


Animalistic

by totallyrhettro



Series: Werewolves in Burbank [1]
Category: rhink - Fandom
Genre: Anal Sex, Animal Attack, Animal Instincts, Blood and Injury, Bottom Rhett, Camping, Cooking, Daring Tactics, Dom Rhett McLaughlin, Dom/sub Undertones, Dream Sex, Dreams, Dubious Consent, Erections, Fights, First Kiss, First Time, Flash Forward, Friends to Lovers, GMM - Freeform, Gay Sex, Good Mythical Morning - Freeform, Happy endings guaranteed, Hiking, Hospitals, Hot Tub, House guest, Kissing, Late at Night, M/M, Manhandling, Mood Swings, Mutual Pining, Nightmares, Off-Roading, Original Character(s), Pining, Public Nudity, Sex Dream, Strange Behavior, Sub Link, Top Link, Transformation, Werewolf, Werewoof, Wet Dream, YouTube, rhink, wolf - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-18 11:30:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 36,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16117493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totallyrhettro/pseuds/totallyrhettro
Summary: After barely surviving a vicious wolf attack, Rhett starts going through some interesting changes.





	1. Chapter 1

“Sir? I need you to focus. Sir?" 

"Is he gonna be ok?”

“We’re gonna do our best, Mr. Neal, but we need to know what happened.”

“There was a wolf…”

“An animal attack? Are you hurt at all?” Dr. Brenner motioned towards the blood on the brunet’s shirt. Flecks of the dried liquid were spattered over the pale, yellow fabric.

“What? No, it’s not mine it’s… It’s his…” He hadn’t even noticed how covered he was.

“Doctor, his blood pressure’s dropping.” A skinny young woman was talking, but Link couldn’t listen. He couldn’t focus on anything but his friend lying on the nearby gurney, his body bloodied and mangled. The tall, blond man was unconscious and he looked like he was barely breathing.

“Get an IV hooked up right away, and start him on O negative blood.” 

“Is he gonna be ok?” Link asked again, grabbing at the long white sleeve of the doctor as she stepped away. 

“Sir, I’m going to need you to wait here.” She gently, but forcefully, removed the brunet’s hands from her sleeve. She looked into the man’s blue eyes, making sure he understood before letting him go. He watched as the doctor and nurses took the gurney through a pair of swinging doors, spouting medical techno-babble as they sprinted down the hall.

Link was left alone, staring at the doors that now separated him from his oldest and dearest friend, unable to think, unable to do anything but tightly clasp a crumbled, blue hoodie stained a very, dark red.

 

The previous day

It was a beautiful July day in the Los Padres National Forest as a single, silver FJ cruiser drove up to an open camping site. It slowed to a stop and two men got out of either side. One, a six foot seven, bearded man with tall, dirty blond hair, was grinning ear to ear as he surveyed the deserted location. He spared a quick, excited glance at his companion. His friend, slightly shorter with dark, brown hair and blue eyes, adjusted his glasses. His expression was cheerful, but slightly less enthusiastic.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay closer to the lodge?” he asked, hopeful. “I mean, this site is so far away from-”

“Exactly!” Rhett, the blond man, opened his arms, motioning around him. “This is real camping. Out in the wilderness.” He shut the car door and made his way to the back of the vehicle.

“There’s not even an outhouse.” 

“Good. Every man should crap in the woods at least once in their lifetime. It’s primal.” He opened the back hatch and started unloading the car. The brunet, Link, sighed and shut his own door. This whole camping idea had been his friend’s idea. He didn’t care for camping. He preferred the comfort of his own home to the wilderness and this trip was promising to be even more rustic than he expected.

Still, he didn’t want to dampen his friend’s enthusiasm. He had agreed to take this trip like he agreed to most things his friend suggested. Because he wanted him to have a good time. Because he liked spending time with him, no matter what they were doing. Because he loved him. 

They had been best friends since first grade, meeting when their teacher held them both in from recess for writing profanity on their desks. They grew up in Buies Creek, North Carolina, spending most of their adolescent years together. Later they went to the same college, becoming engineers. Then they went into business together, becoming internet comedians, or ‘internetainers’ as they had coined. They had known each other for over thirty years and had many adventures together. You don’t spend half a lifetime with someone without starting to feel something. Too bad Link didn’t feel like he could say anything about it.

“Looking forward to that,” he muttered. The first order of business was to put up their shared tent. They could have easily brought two tents, but neither saw it as a necessity.

Despite not using the instructions, the two men managed to quickly put the large, blue enclosure together without much trouble. They threw their sleeping bags and backpacks into the tent before stepping back to admire their handiwork. 

“We should gather firewood for the fire,” Rhett suggested.

“You checked right? That we could actually have a fire?”

“I made doubly sure. It’s not a real camping trip without a fire. Come on.” Practically hopping, he lead the way into the thick woods. They meandered through the tall pine trees, picking up small twigs, and generally exploring the forest around their campsite, until they stumbled into a break in the woods. A creek, a few feet wide and several inches deep, split the small clearing in two.

 

“Check it out, Link!” Rhett exclaimed. He set the branches he had collected down before heading over to the running waters and rinsing his hands. “This would be a great place to stay in the apocalypse. Isolated, plenty of water. I bet I could find some deer around here to hunt too.”

“You’ve never killed a deer in your life," Link reminded him. "It’s not like shooting doves.”

“I bet I could figure it out.” Link just rolled his eyes. He didn’t understand his friend’s fascination with the end of the world. Sometimes he acted as if he wanted it to happen. The brunet didn’t mind such morbid conversations, but deep down he wasn’t sure any preparation would help them survive such an occurrence. He was far too dependent on modern technology.

“Maybe. Hey we should get some good walking sticks for hiking.” Link glanced around, searching the immediate surroundings for a suitable branch. “There are some good hiking trails around here.”

“I haven’t seen any sticks big enough for me.” Rhett stepped over to a nearby tree. “Although…” He grabbed a decent sized branch, braced a foot on the trunk, and pulled hard. With a great ‘snap!’ he pulled the branch free and not a millisecond later, he let out a short cry.

“Rhett!” Link dropped his bundle and rushed over to his companion. “What happened?” Still holding the branch in one hand, Rhett brought his other hand up so his companion could examine it.

“It’s just a scratch. No biggie.” A thin line of blood was drawn along the skin of his left pointer finger. Not thinking, Link grabbed the hand in his own and pulled it close to his face. He was so focused on the wound he didn’t notice the slight blush coming over his friend’s face. After a moment, Rhett pulled his hand away, turning back towards the creek quickly. “See? Nothing. Let’s uh, let’s get back to camp. I could use a bite.”

“At least put a band-aid on it. You don’t want it to get infected.”

Both men, with a bundle of twigs and sticks in hand, made their way back to camp. The sun was still pretty high when they reached the campsite. They set their kindling next to the pit to be dealt with later. Link immediately went to grab his first aid kit from the back of the car. After a moment he returned to his friend with a bandage and a small tube of Neosporin.

“It’s not a big deal,” Rhett began but Link shook his head as he opened the plastic tube.

“Don’t be a baby, just hold still.” His friend obediently held up his hand as Link applied a small dab of the liquid onto his wound.

“I’m not being a baby, I just- Ah!” He inhaled sharply as the sting of the antiseptic shot through his hand.

“Right. Not a baby,” Link smirked, but was extra gentle with the bandage as he placed it on the other man’s finger. When he finished he crumbled up the wrapper and nodded approvingly. “There. All done.” Rhett gave a small smile. “You want a lollipop?” Link just barely dodged small punch aimed at his shoulder.

They still had a few hours before supper time, but a snack couldn’t hurt. Rhett retrieved his camo backpack from the tent and pulled out a bag of beef jerky. After taking a strip, he offered the bag to Link who happily accepted.

“You up for some hiking?” he asked between bites. Rhett nodded and tossed his bag back into the tent before picking up his walking stick. Link pointed at the branch and the hand that held it. “Your hand feel better?”

“I’m good. It doesn’t even hurt.” He tested the stick with a few steps and seemed satisfied with its sturdiness. “Come on.” Link put the Neosporin back in the first aid box and the box back in the car. He liked being prepared and being so far away from civilization it was more important than ever. 

They hiked up and down the trails, exploring the woods and talking about various ideas for future episodes for their internet show, Good Mythical Morning. They considered doing some more 'Will It’ episodes since their audience, the mythical beasts, seemed bent on offering suggestions for such episodes every chance they got. Rhett tried to convince his buddy to do a ‘Will It Salsa?’ episode, but Link wasn’t eager to do anything that involved spicy food. At least, not for awhile.

 

When they got back to camp, Link started setting up the campfire while Rhett broke open the the food supplies. Rhett had brought supplies for ramen and was very excited to cook for himself and his buddy. As the two men sat around the fire, waiting for the water to boil, they talked about camping back in their younger days and both wished they did it more often.

“We could make this a regular thing,” Rhett suggested. “Just me and you. Roughing it.”

“It _is_ peaceful out here,” his friend noted. “I guess it’s great to just get away from the city sometimes, you know? Sometimes I wish we were still in Lillington. I mean, L.A. is great, but it sure can be tiring.”

“Things _have_ been hectic, lately.” They had just wrapped up taping for the season finale of the seventh season of Good Mythical Morning earlier that week. They were taking a few weeks away from the show to recharge their batteries. “I hope the mythical beasts like that last show.”

“They better. I hate episodes when we eat spicy food. Let’s have less of those in season eight, okay?” His stomach growled as if remembering the hot peppers they digested only a few days prior.

“No promises.” Rhett checked the water being dumping in the ramen noodles. “This isn’t spicy. I hope you like it.” After a few more minutes, he drained the pasta and added the flavored powder, stirring slowly. He looked so serious, like he was a chef on some food network TV show. Link couldn’t help but grin at the sight, but he said nothing. If his friend wanted to pretend, who was he to question it?

Picking up a waiting bowl, Rhett dished up some of the heated cuisine for Link before dishing up some for himself. After a nervous bite, the brunet nodded appreciatively.

“Not bad,” he commented, nodding. “Definitely better than habaneros.”

“Could use some sriracha.”

After a small desert of delicious s'mores, Rhett and Link doused the fire and settled into their shared tent to get some shuteye. Link, after changing into his golden retriever t-shirt, pulled up his sleeping bag up to his chin and lay on his side with his glasses nearby. Just before he closed his eyes he saw Rhett, across from the pavilion peering at him.

“What?” he asked, slightly confused. Rhett smiled.

“We really should do this more often.” With that, he rolled over to his other side. Link stared at the back of his friend’s head for awhile, wondering what was going on in that head, before sighing and shutting his eyelids. Moments later he was sound asleep, lost in shifting dreams that were certain to fade in the morning light.


	2. Chapter 2

Rhett didn’t know what time it was when he woke up, he just knew it was the middle of the night and though he would have rather stayed in the tent and slept, his bladder had other plans. Moving carefully, quietly, so he didn’t wake Link, the tall man grabbed his blue, GMM hoodie, then made his way out of the tent and headed towards the trees.

He didn’t want to go to the bathroom too close to the campsite so he walked for a few minutes until he was satisfied with the distance. As he walked he tried not to think about his sleeping friend back at camp, how peaceful he had looked all tucked in his sleeping bag. How beautiful he looked.

Over the years he had learned how to hide his feelings for his best friend. He realized from an early age they were feelings shunned by his hometown, considered wrong or shameful, but he never understood why. So he just hid them from his family and friends. From his best friend. He hid them, but let them bloom into the love he held in his heart for all these years.

Still there were times when it got harder to hide them. Times when they sat just a little too close during recordings of their daily internet talk show. Watching old episodes back he was amazed Link never noticed the little slip ups. The fans thought there was something there; they would comment sometimes about how Rhett’s gaze lingered a bit too long, or how he touched his co-host a bit too much. Luckily his blue-eyed companion never paid those comments any mind. He stayed oblivious to Rhett's affection and that was for the best.

If Rhett had been honest with himself, he didn’t just need to get away to pee. He needed to get away from Link, just for a little while. They had stayed in the same room before, in hotels when they traveled. Heck, they stayed in the same bed before, usually when the management had screwed up. But it wasn’t proximity that always got to him. It was just sometimes… Sometimes those gentle eyes would give him a look, like they were filled with the stars, and Rhett would imagine sinking into them. Sinking with him.

After he finished his business, Rhett kept walking. He wasn’t quite ready to go back. He wasn’t ready to lay so close to his friend and watch him sleep in blissful ignorance. He just wasn’t ready yet.

He passed by the river, where he had cut his hand, and paused to lean against a tree. The serenity of the woods seemed encapsulated in that clearing. A cool breeze swept through the woods and, together with the sound of the gentle waters, it gave the area a very tranquil quality. It was satisfying to just stand there, enjoying the peace and quiet.

While he stood there, embracing the beauty of nature, he was pulled from the stillness by the sound of a branch snapping nearby. His head turned sharply towards the noise but, in the thick brush, even the full moon couldn’t pierce through to illuminate the darkness. He strained his eyes, trying to see, but saw nothing but shadows. Suddenly the tent seemed like a much better option.

Now super aware of his surroundings, Rhett zipped up his hoodie and began walking quickly back to the campsite. He mentally kicked himself for wandering so far from it. The ground seemed much more rocky than before and he stumbled, slightly, a few times as he headed back. Branches that had been well out of his way now clawed at him, like limbs and hands trying to grab hold of him. It was like the forest didn’t want him to leave.

He had only made it about halfway back when he heard something shifting in the bushes behind him. He paused a moment to check but again he saw nothing. His heart started pounding as his fear of the unknown grew. Trying to tell himself that it was just his imagination didn’t help; the instinctual desire to flee was quickly overriding his rational sensibilities.

Rhett broke into a run now, unashamed to admit, at least to himself, he might very well just be reacting to a fear of the dark. For a moment it definitely seemed as if that was all it was. He was almost back to the campsite; he could see the tent coming into view. When it was twenty feet ahead of him he began to feel relieved. Ten feet and he slowed his pace, feeling silly now. Five feet and something caused him to stop completely. He heard the rustle of leaves and the padder of heavy steps approaching him at high speed. Before he could look again, he was knocked to the ground with great force.

He made a guttural noise as all the air was knocked from his lungs. His head hit the forest floor, hard, but he barely noticed the fallen branches and rocks as they scraped his face. A sharp pain shot through his arm as what felt like a dozen tiny daggers ripped into his flesh. A heavy weight was still holding him down, making it hard to breathe, but he mustered all the oxygen he could to let out a blood curdling yell.

The sound cut through the otherwise silent night. It resonated through the woods, making its way to the tent in which Link now slept. At first he didn’t stir, thinking the noise only a part of whatever dream he was currently engrossed in. His eyes fluttered open, confused as to what had woken him before the sun had a chance to rise. A second scream brought him fully awake, and he glanced towards the other side of the tent. Rhett wasn’t there.

“Rhett?” No response. Now Link was really scared. He unscrambled himself from his warm cocoon, slipped on his glasses, unzipped the tent and peeked outside. A third shout, much shorter than the others, came from his left. From the woods. Without hesitation, not even taking a minute to put pants on, the half naked man grabbed a flashlight before dashing towards the screams.

Using his light, Link easily found his friend and the thing that was attacking him. He shined the bright beam at them both, trying to determine what was going on, why his friend was screaming, and he almost screamed himself.

Rhett was laying, face down, in dirt. His left arm was twisted at an odd angle and there was a glint of liquid all around it. He tried to move, to get up or get away, but it was no use. He wasn’t going anywhere with the large beast perched on his back. Link couldn’t make out much about it, at first. It was large, _very_ large, and covered in grey fur. As Link maneuvered the beam of his flashlight, passing it over the creature to get a better look at it, it lifted it’s head. Piercing, yellow eyes glared back him, reflecting the light and making it look almost demonic.

It was some kind of wolf, but not like any Link had ever seen, though he had never been this close to one before. It bared its massive teeth, revealing a terrifying grin marked with blood. It growled, menacingly, warning the newcomer to back off, but Link didn’t move. He looked down to his friend. Rhett had stopped screaming, stopped moving. He wasn’t doing anything at all.

When the brunet didn’t leave, the wolf took a step closer, his focus now completely on this new human. Link’s terror spiked and the realization of what the beast intended crept into his mind. The desire to help his friend was momentarily replaced by one thought, one instinct: _run_.

Somehow managing to keep a grip on his flashlight, Link turned and ran back towards the campsite as fast as he could. He couldn’t remember the last time he'd ever ran that fast, but then he had never been chased by a vicious animal before. Dodging between trees, he could hear the wolf behind him. The wolf was faster, but the thick woods were making it hard for it break into a sprint. At one point, Link ducked under a fallen tree and the beast tried to follow but it got stuck. Knowing it wouldn’t be long before the wolf freed itself, the man didn’t stop. He made it to the clearing which, in the light of day, had been so inviting but now it was just an open space where he could get caught. 

His eyes scanned the area, wondering where he could go, or hide. He couldn’t keep running; the wolf would eventually catch up and then it would be all over for the blue-eyed internetainer. The tent was useless; the beast would tear through it like wet tissue. Link could hear the wolf before he saw it. It was right behind him. Any moment now, it would pounce, tackling him to the ground. He had to make a decision, and fast. The car. Link ran straight for it, opening the passenger side door and jumping inside with the beast nipping at his heels. He slammed the door shut just in time.

For a moment, he just watched the wolf pacing next to the car, trying to catch his breath. As his rational mind resurfaced, he knew he couldn’t wait for the wolf to get bored and wander off. Rhett needed help, he needed Link to save him. Time was running out. Frantically, Link began to search the car, checking for anything that could help him. He didn’t have the keys, they were back in the tent. His cell phone was as well; he couldn’t call for help without first dealing with the wolf. Ducking into the back seat, he rummaged through the trunk, tossing aside item after item, not sure what he could possibly do against something so fierce.

Jumper cables. He didn’t trust himself to try and garrote the thing. Spare tire, ice scraper, useless. Tire iron, a definite maybe. A few good swings could bring that beast down, but Link didn’t feel confident about his fighting prowess. Still, that seemed like the best option until he saw it: A box of road flares. Rhett kept them in the car for emergencies. Link praised his friend’s preparedness as he grabbed a single flare and sat back down in the seat. He leaned over, trying to spot the creature through the side window. He knew it hadn’t left, but not being able to pinpoint its location made him nervous.

He couldn’t wait. Rhett needed him. Taking a deep breath he popped the cap of the flare, sparking it to life, then grabbed the door handle. Another deep breath.

“One…” He began to countdown to himself, psyching himself up. “Two…” A last glance to check for the wolf. There was motion nearby. It had to be the beast. “Three!” He threw open the door and held the flare up high. To his right, he saw a huge mass of fur and teeth come around the back of the car. It paused, moving slowly as it stalked its prey.

Link moved slowly too, his fear drawing him to back away from the thing in front of him. He held the flare ready, waiting for the beast to fully emerge from behind the vehicle. He needed a bigger target. He needed to make sure he didn’t miss. He only had one shot at this.

It felt like an eternity as the wolf inched its way forward, cautious of his newly armed target. Step by step the man and the wolf moved each waiting for the other to break the stalemate. 

One final step and the beast was in full view but still Link didn’t act. He couldn’t breathe now, seeing the huge creature so close to him. It stopped walking and backed up on his haunches, and something clicked in the man’s mind. He pulled back the flare just slightly, ready for the swing. 

Everything happened in a flash. The wolf leaped, its jaws wide, ready to bite. Link felt his arm swing forward, his fingers releasing the flare. The glorified sparkler and the beast met in mid air; the creature yelped in pain as the fire burned its face, catching on fire fur and flesh alike. Startled, the wolf missed his prey, falling to the side. The man didn’t waste a moment, he flinched away, giving his hunter a wide berth as it writhed in pain. Then, still whimpering, the wolf ran off, heading into back into the woods.

For a moment, all was quiet, save for the burning of the dropped flare on the ground. Link waited to see if the wolf was coming back. Once he was certain it was gone for good, he ran to the tent, digging through his discarded pants to find his cell phone. He dialed 911 as quickly as his thumbs could muster, but didn’t even wait for the dial tone as he rushed back to find out what has become of his best friend.

Rhett was still on the ground, where the wolf had left him. Link fell to the ground beside him, trying to get a better look. From the light of the phone, he could see blood everywhere; and the tall, twisted body wasn’t moving. He didn’t know if the man was alive or dead, but he didn’t want to believe the latter. He had to believe everything was going to be okay even though his mind was telling him the chances of surviving the attack were slim.

“911, what is your emergency?” asked the dispatcher on the other end of the phone call. Link felt his throat closing up as he responded.

“You have to help me!” he shouted. “My friend… he’s dying!”


	3. Chapter 3

Hours passed. Link tried not to think about the worst case scenario as he waited for word about Rhett. His phone had died long ago so he couldn’t even distract himself with that. He paced back and forth across the hospital waiting room for ages, occasionally stopping to glance at the clock on the wall, but it barely seemed to be moving.

The ambulance had arrived at their campsite about a half hour after Link called them. After throwing on a pair of pants Link jumped in back alongside his friend, and watched as the EMT’s worked on stabilizing him on their way to the health center in Big Sur. It seemed like forever before they finally arrived and the doctors were able to bring the injured man into the building.

They had removed Rhett’s hoodie to better get at his wounds. Link clutched it tightly to his chest the whole ride here and he couldn’t bring himself to set it down for one second. It was all he had of his friend right now, and he needed it. He needed him. He needed him to be okay.

As the sun began to rise over the horizon, Link was still waiting. He looked incredibly disheveled with his bed hair and bloodshot eyes. The nurses had stopped asking him if he needed anything since they couldn’t give him the answers he begged them for whenever they spoke to him. Now they gave him space as he fidgeted in his seat.

When Dr. Brenner finally came back Link shot up immediately and ran over to her, desperate for answers. The doctor put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down before she began.

“Your friend is resting comfortably. The wounds he sustained are quite severe, but he’s a fighter.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“I don’t know, Mr. Neal. Only time will tell, I’m afraid. His arm was broken in two places and he suffered lacerations over his face and torso. He lost a lot of blood but he is stable now. You can go and see him, but don’t expect him to wake up for sometime.”

Link gave the doctor a quick nod, barely listening to the details of his friend’s injuries. He followed a nurse to the back room where the blond man lay, sleeping, on a hospital bed; strange machines were hooked up to him with various cords and tubes.

The tall man looked so fragile. He was half covered in bandages and had a cast covering his lower left arm. He had breathing tubes up his nose and wires monitoring his heart and other vitals. His skin, what little Link could see, was scratched up all over. The soft beeping of the monitor gave Link a great feeling of comfort as he slowly approached. It meant Rhett was alive.

“Hey, Rhett,” he said, softly, knowing his friend could not hear him. “Oh man, that dog roughed you up good.” He sat down in a chair and pulled it up next to the bed. His hands were shaking and he tried to calm them by holding on the bed frame.

“You’re gonna get through this. You just… you have to.” He felt the burn of tears and he wiped them away. He needed to be strong now, for Rhett. He couldn’t imagine his life without his best friend. He could barely remember his life before this man was in it. Laying down his head next to Rhett's arm, Link silently prayed that he would be alright.

~ ~ ~

He didn’t mean to fall asleep. He just wanted to rest his tired eyes after a long night. As the golden rays of the rising sun washed over him, he quickly sat back up, adjusting his glasses that had gone eschew in his sleep. Looking at his friend he was momentarily relieved that he was still breathing, but Rhett’s breathing was shallow and labored.

Beads of sweat dotted the man’s face and he looked very pale. Concerned, Link instinctively brought a hand to Rhett’s cheek. His skin felt incredibly warm and clammy.

“Rhett…” Link whispered.

The machine next to them started beeping shrilly, with some of the numbers suddenly flashing an alarmingly red color. Moments later Dr. Brenner barged into the room, accompanied by two nurses. They gently shoved Link to the side, checking instruments and pawing over Rhett’s body to take various measurements.

“His fever is spiking,” one nurse reported. The doctor nodded as she pulled open one of Rhett’s eyelids and shined a penlight onto his pupil.

“Prepare an ice bath. We need to get his temperature down.” Before the assisting nurses could comply, Rhett began to shake, his body jerking violently. The doctor grabbed him, holding him down. “He’s seizing. Joyce! Please escort Mr. Neal back to the waiting room, immediately!” The woman, Joyce presumably, grabbed Link by the arm and started pulling him towards the door. Just before the doors closed behind him, Link heard a soft voice coming from the bed.

“Link…”

“Rhett?” Link started tugging against the nurse, desperate to go back to his friend. “Rhett!”

“ _Now_ , Joyce!” The doctor yelled. Despite the man’s protests, Joyce pulled the him through the doors as he continued to shout his friend’s name. Outside the hospital room a large man, dressed as an orderly, helped the nurse take Link back to the waiting room. Before leaving him there, the orderly gave him a look of warning, as if to tell him he better stay put. Frustrated and increasingly worried about his best friend, Link could only hope Rhett would be okay. He hated feeling so helpless.

“Rhett…”

~ ~ ~

The room was deathly quiet when Rhett opened his eyes. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. The room was somewhat well lit, mostly by the early morning sunlight pouring in from the East window. The overhead lights contributed very little to the ambiance of the room which felt like a cross between a log cabin and a hospital.

There was no one around and he felt a sinking sensation in his chest, but little else. Sitting up, he glanced at his body, expecting to find wounds from the animal attack, but his flesh and clothes were untouched. He looked completely fine.

Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he stood up slowly, trying to understand what was going on. Machines were nearby, beeping away, but they weren’t connected to him and he couldn’t understand any of the readouts they were displaying. Confused, he walked over to the door and opened it.

Immediately he was no longer in the strange hospital room, but in the eerie dark forest he and Link had walked though not long ago. A thick mist rolled along the forest floor and the bright moonlight lit the trees around him, providing a strange, yet familiar atmosphere. Turning around, the door he knew he had just opened was gone. He was in the middle of the woods, cold and alone.

Walking slowly, not really sure where he was going, or what he would find, he began to feel a slight tingling sensation all over his skin. It was pleasant, at first, but quickly became irritating. Soon it was more than he could take. His skin itched like crazy and he started to scratch at his arms and neck, anywhere he could reach, to alleviate the annoying itch.

The more he scratched, the more it itched. Then, as he drew his fingernails across the back of his hand, the skin broke open, peeling back like dried paint. There was no blood, but dark hairs poked through, shaggy and brown. He gasped, but he couldn’t stop. He continued to scratch, removing more skin, revealing more hair.

No. Not hair. Fur.

The itching was still getting worse. It felt like something was crawling under his skin and he was desperate to get it out. He scratched, he rubbed, he clawed at himself, and more and more skin fell away. He tore at his clothes, shredding them to pieces until he was completely naked. Naked and covered in this strange, coarse fur.

Only once all of the clothing and skin were gone did he finally feel better. The ich was gone and he felt a wave of relief. His body didn’t hurt. In fact, he felt incredible. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this amazing. There was a surge of energy flowing through him as he stretched out, extending his back more than he thought possible, and he had an overwhelming urge to scream into the night sky.

Throwing back his head, he opened his mouth to do just that, but instead of a scream, or a cry, he emitted a low howl. It started soft, but grew louder, echoing in the empty forest. At least, he thought it was empty.

As his howl faded, he heard a second howl. A response. He smiled. Someone else was there. Someone wanted to play. He howled again.

’ _I want to play too._ ’

The cold didn’t nip at him anymore. The darkness didn’t scare him. He felt amazing, alive. He dove through the trees, running faster than he ever had in his life. The echoing howl cried out again, and he turned to head towards it. He howled back his own, deep howl.

‘ _Yes, play with me,_ ’ he howled. ‘ _Where are you?_ ’

Faster and faster he ran, not noticing the branches whipping past him, or the way the moon seemed to grow larger with every passing minute. He only knew he had to find the other person. His friend. He had to find them.

Then, a clearing. He stumbled to a stop, looking around to see if his new companion was there. For a moment he saw nothing but the forest but then, a single figure. He tilted his head, confused. This figure looked so strange, yet he knew him from somewhere. But where?

This new figure was covered in brightly colored fur… no, clothes. They were clothes. Dark, shaggy fur hung from his head… no, hair. How could he forget hair? Blue eyes shown through strange circles on his face… Glasses? 

The stranger looked at Rhett, frightened.

“Why are you frightened?” Rhett asked, or he tried to ask. It came out as a low growling whine. The stranger took a few steps back, raising his hands defensively. Rhett took a step closer. “I want to play,” he tried to assure him, but again his voice wouldn’t quite work.

Then a howl, from the distance again. His friend. Rhett howled back.

‘ _Where are you?_ ’ his howl asked. The stranger before him suddenly turned around and began running away. Rhett didn’t want him to go. He wanted to play with him. With a short, rough noise, Rhett took off after him. Immediately he was happy again.

‘ _This is a fun game,_ ’ he thought. ‘ _I can do this._ ’ The stranger was pretty fast, but Rhett was much faster. ‘ _I’m going to win. I’m going to catch you._ ’ As he got closer, he took a deep breath and put all his strength into running. When he was right behind the stranger, Rhett leaped up and pounced onto the man, knocking him to the forest floor.

“No!” the man cried out. Rhett didn’t listen. He held the man down and growled playfully at him. Still the man struggled, trying to get away.

“No,” Rhett tried to say. “I win. Say that I win!” His growls did nothing to still the stranger who continued to try to get away. Frustrated, Rhett leaned down and bit on the man’s neck, trying to get him to hold still. A dark, red, liquid, poured from the place he bit and the man cried out even louder.

“Rhett!” he yelled. “Rhett, no! Please!” As a horrific scream left the man’s throat, Rhett pulled back. Finally, he recognized this stranger.

“Link?”

~ ~ ~

Rhett’s eyes flew open. He wasn’t in the woods. He hadn’t been for a long time. There were no trees, no moon. His body ached everywhere and he could feel various things connected to it all over. He felt sweat pouring down his face and his heart was beating like a jackhammer in his chest. He was in a bed, in a hospital room, but not the one from before. He didn’t know where he was and all he could think about was how he had just killed his best friend. 


	4. Chapter 4

There were a few seconds when Rhett felt like bursting into tears. He couldn’t believe what he had seen, what he had felt. It had to have been a dream, obviously, but it had been so real. Every sight, sound, sensation. It was like he had really been there, in the woods, with Link, tearing into him with his bare teeth.

For a moment he just tried to bring his body to the present, feeling reality around him. He felt the soreness of his muscles, the many wires and tubes connected to him. He felt something wrapped around his left arm; a cast. Then he sensed something else. Something warm. A soft, slow rhythmic warmth against his right hand. He turned his head, looking down at his right side, and a dark mop of hair came into view. Rhett would know that head anywhere. He smiled.

‘ _Link…_ ’ Before he could stop himself, he brought his fingers up and softly caressed the top of Link’s head. Immediately Link shifted, sitting up just enough so he could turn and look up at his friend. His eyes were slightly glazed over but they soon focused as he realized where he was.

“Rhett!” he exclaimed, softly, as he sat more upright. “You’re awake!”

“Hey,” Rhett managed, sleepily. He hoped his companion hadn’t really registered that he had been petting him moments before. “What happened? Where are we?”

“It was bad, man.” Link’s cheerly face fell as he remembered back. “I called 911 and they took you up to Big Sur. We’re at Saint Joseph’s now, though. They said… they weren’t sure…” He looked like he might start crying and Rhett grabbed his hand, reassuringly.

“Hey hey… it’s ok. I’m here.”

“I thought… I mean…”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Link sighed and shook his head.

“I thought I was going to lose you. You were messed up pretty bad, then you had a such a high fever for days…”

“Days?” That couldn’t be. He had only been asleep for a few hours, surely.

“Almost a whole week.”

“A week?” Rhett repeated again. He couldn’t wrap his mind around what his friend was telling him. Link nodded again.

“After you got worse, they had you transferred to this hospital. I was so scared…”

“What happened? I remember something attacked me, but nothing after that.”

“It was some kinda huge wolf thing.” Link looked like he was thinking back, remembering the events of that night. “It chased me too. I managed to get to the car, grabbed a flare and I… I hit it.” He made wild gestures, trying to reenact the moment. “It ran off after that. I don’t know what happened to it. I think the cops are looking for it.” Rhett beamed up at his friend.

“You fought a wolf for me, Link?” he asked. Link couldn’t help but feel proud, looking back at his accomplishment. At the time he hadn’t really been thinking about being brave, just how his friend needed him. “That’s amazing.”

“I didn’t know what else to do,” he said, softly.

“A flare,” Rhett mused. “Not sure I would have thought of that.” They were quiet for a moment, then Link gave a deep sigh.

“I hate camping,” he whispered. Rhett chuckled but his laugh quickly morphed into a cough. Link immediately got to his feet.

“I’ll get the doctor. Try not to move too much, I’ll be right back.” Before Rhett could argue, Link was up and out of the room. Minutes later, he returned with a man, in a long white coat and grey hair, by his side. The doctor gave a friendly smile, though he couldn’t hide the surprise on his face.

“Mr. McLaughlin,” he began. “You’re awake. That great news.” He pulled a small penlight from his breast pocket and shined it in both of Rhett’s eyes. “I’m Dr. Clarkson. How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” he admitted. “And sore.”

“Well, that’s understandable.” He glanced at the monitors, immediately understanding their readouts. “You’ve been through a lot. Frankly, I’m amazed you’re… awake.” He smiled again and Rhett smiled back, but he knew what the the doctor meant. The doctor was amazed Rhett was alive.

“Me too,” Rhett admitted, sorrowfully. Whether or not Link caught the doctor’s hesitation, he didn’t show it.

“So, he’s going to be okay?”

“Well it’s definitely a good sign that he’s are awake. I’m going to order a fresh round of blood tests to see if the virus is still-”

“Virus?” Rhett interrupted. It seemed that much had occurred while he had been dreaming.

“Yes. We believe you were infected with some sort of virus from the attack. We’re pretty sure it was the cause of your high fever.”

“You’re not sure?” Dr. Clarkson sighed.

“We haven’t been able to identify the specific virus.”

“But you were giving him rabies shots,” Link said. “Right?”

“As a precautionary measure. We don’t think the virus that has been giving you such trouble is rabies. Rabies usually doesn’t show symptoms for days, even weeks after you contract it.”

“So, you don’t know what’s wrong with me?” Rhett slumped, slightly.

“We don’t, Mr., McLaughlin, but if you are awake, it might mean your body is fighting off this virus on its own. Let me run some blood tests and we can go from there. Ok?” Rhett nodded, but he didn’t feel very reassured.

After dozens of tests and hours of waiting, the doctors finally came back with news that Rhett had a clean bill of health. Not only was there no sign of any virus, most of his injures were all but completely healed.

“You’ve healed quite remarkably, Mr. McLaughlin,” the doctor told him. “You’ll need to wear a cast for a while but we think you should be able to go home tomorrow.” It was great news. Both Rhett and Link were thrilled to be able to get back to their normal lives. They weren’t at all as intrigued by the Rhett's speedy recovery as all the staff seemed to be. They were just happy he was going to be alright.

The next day Link drove his friend back to his house. In the preceding days Link had managed to retrieve the FJ cruiser from the campsite, as well as their other belongings. It hadn’t been easy; the police saw the whole place as a crime scene and, at first, wouldn’t let anyone come near. Eventually they gave him permission to get their stuff and focused their attentions on finding, and likely killing, the wolf that had attacked his friend.

“I just hope no one else gets hurt before they get that thing,” Link sighed as he pulled up Rhett’s driveway.

“I’m sure the police will put it down in no time. They closed down the park and it was nowhere near any cities.” He rubbed his left shoulder, absentmindedly, where he had received his last rabies shot.

“How’s your arm feeling?”

“Better. Much better. I’m just glad it’s my left arm. Won’t be able to play the guitar for awhile, but I’ll get by.” As he opened the passenger door, Link put a palm on his shoulder, gently.

“Hey, take it easy, alright? You still got some vacation left before we have to get back to work. I want you to take full advantage of it.”

“Don’t worry. I plan on lounging on the couch and binge-watching Netflix for days. Sleeping for a week really takes it out of you.” Despite Rhett’s reassuring smile, Link let his hand linger for a few seconds more before letting go.

“Call me if you need anything.”

“I’m fine. I just need some rest.”

~ ~ ~

Many of their plans for their vacation had to be canceled on account of Rhett’s broken arm. The doctors told him he wouldn’t be able to get the cast off for months; the breaks had been pretty severe. Until he got his arm back, there would be no biking and no surfing. It seemed he had to spend much of his time sitting around, catching up on some reading or some Netflix program or another.

Still, he could still go off-roading though he couldn’t drive very well. A week after Rhett got out of the hospital, he, Link and their friend Nick, planned to take a trip up North to Death Valley. It was a bit of a drive, and Link was not eager for another camping trip so soon, but Rhett was restless.

“I gotta get out of the house, man,” he begged. “We gotta go to VidCon next week, and we start recording not long after that. I need to go do something before I don’t have any time.”

“But camping, Rhett?” Link whined. “I mean, last time…”

“This is hundreds of miles away from the last place. Plus Nick will be with us. _Plus_ it’s the desert. Not a wolf for miles. Please Link?” He gave his friend his best ‘puppy-dog-eyes’ and Link couldn’t help but cave. When Rhett wanted something this badly, it was nearly impossible to say no.

The three men drove for hours, navigating rough terrain, exploring the trails, before they got to their campsite: an isolated, yet familiar, oasis. They had visited it several times before and somehow it had become a favorite pit stop of theirs. It was late evening as they pulled up, barely glancing at the signpost that read 'clothing optional’.

There were a few people about, all of whom were fully clothed. Despite the location’s reputation for nudity, visitors didn’t parade around the place naked all the time. At least, most of them didn’t. As the three friends set up their tent, Rhett checked the hot tub. It was completely deserted.

“I’m going to take a dip, while there’s no one around. You guys coming?” Nick shook his head.

“I think I’m going to turn in, maybe get up early tomorrow and shower before anyone’s up.” He ducked into his tent and Rhett turned to Link.

“Sure, I guess,” he shrugged, adjusting his glasses. “Let me get my air mattress set up and I’ll meet you over there.”

With a towel in hand, Rhett made his way over to the famous (or infamous) hot tub, eager for a good soak. A warm steam floated up from the stone, hexagon hot tub as he approached. He stood at the white bench nearby, preparing to disrobe and enter the hot waters.

Taking heed of the wise words Link had once uttered, 'the moment of nakedness should be minimized’, Rhett removed his clothing before quickly emerging himself in the unfortunately clear waters of the pool, careful to keep his cast-covered arm out of the water. It was a bit of a shock, going from the cool air of the desert evening to the hot spring, but he found it invigorating. He soon adapted to the temperature change and settled back, enjoying the experience.

He didn’t hear Link approaching until he was right behind him. He didn’t say a word as Link set his own dry towel on the bench and began to disrobe. His green eyes endeavored to look anywhere but at his friend as the man took off his clothes, but he couldn’t help but spare a slight peek from the corner of his eye.

As Link pulled down his underwear, Rhett swallowed hard. They had done this before and, despite his attraction, he had manage to hold himself together then. For some reason, this time was different. Link hissed sharply as he took his first steps down into the hot tub, his blue eyes looking only at his feet lest he slip and fall. It was during those precious few seconds, the man across from him gave in to temptation and let his prying eyes really look at his friend. His completely naked friend.

Link was magnificent. His slender but toned body could have been carved from marble by Michelangelo himself. Rhett felt his eyes glide down the sight of him, from the thick muscles of his arms, down his dark, curly chest hair and along his stomach, which twitched and spasmed as the man flinched from the sudden heat.

All of this Rhett had seen before, many times. Link had removed his shirt on the set of Good Mythical Morning more times than perhaps had been necessary, and Rhett had enjoyed it every time. But now, as his eyes traveled down further, his gaze fell upon that which he usually only saw in his dreams.

It was flaccid, of course, if only from the cold air around them, but it was still impressive. The rare times Rhett had seen it before he always admired it though he would never admit it. They had established in college, mostly out of curiosity, that while the taller man had thickness on his side, Link had length, and it appeared as if that had not changed over the years. Rhett often wondered if this would hold true if it was erect…

His mind suddenly, and uncontrollably, wandered into dark places where images of him doing things to his friend’s member littered the shadows, causing a familiar sensation in his own groin. Before he could stop it, Rhett felt himself getting hard. Immediately he pulled his gaze down, away from Link and his one good hand instinctively moved to cover himself. He tried to will the growing arousal away, but to no avail, and the source of his discomfort was moving closer to him by the second.

Before it could get too bad, and too obvious, Rhett made a snap decision. Moving to make as many ripples in the water as possible, hoping to mask his situation, he got out of the hot tub even faster than he had entered. He snatched up his waiting towel and quickly wrapped it around himself.

“All done?” Link wondered, slightly concerned.

“Uh yeah. Guess I’m more tired than I thought.” Rhett picked up his clothes and held them as nonchalantly as he could close to his body. “I’m gonna hit the bathroom then the hay.” Link shrugged, but the taller man didn’t notice. He didn’t trust himself to look anywhere near his friend right now.

The bathroom, a wooden outhouse, was barely tall enough for Rhett to stand in without crouching. It was relatively clean, but he still avoided touching anything he didn’t have to, despite wanting to lean up against the door for support. His heart was beating so fast. It had been a long time since he had gotten embarrassingly stiff. Years of practicing self control had seemed all for naught when he had been mere feet from his naked friend moments ago. Why now?

If he had been at home he would have dealt with the problem in private. It would have made the rest of the night, a night he was destined to spend in a tent with Link, pass by with far less stress. Rhett was resolved, however, to not sink to that level of depravity, not in a dirty outhouse. He took deep, cleansing breaths, waiting for the situation to simply fade for the time being. No one had noticed; it had been too dark. He was in the clear. When he was certain the awkward moment had passed, he carefully got dressed and stepped out of the bathroom.

As he walked towards the tent, he tried to think about anything to keep his sudden libido at bay. He thought about rocks, food, ugly people naked; a whole plethora of random, unsexy things. Link was, so far, oblivious to Rhett’s desires and Rhett very much wanted to keep it that way for the sake of their friendship.

When he got to the tent, Link was inside, already sound asleep. He was tucked into his sleeping bag, but Rhett could see he was wearing an old, star wars t-shirt. Not letting his mind wonder what else his friend was wearing, or not wearing, Rhett quietly laid down on his side of the enclosure, not bothering to change into his own pjs.

Turning his back to the other man, Rhett closed his eyes. He hoped that this random weakness was only temporary and that soon he would be able to go back to pretending his feelings for Link were purely platonic. If it was not, this trip was going to get a lot more awkward.


	5. Chapter 5

Rhett clicked on the flashlight and shined it across the dingy dining room. A rusting chandelier sat, in pieces, on top of a huge table, covered with dust and thick cobwebs. Shattered glass littered the floor near a huge bay window facing out into the front yard. The window had long ago been boarded up but somehow a few of the boards had come loose and someone (rowdy teens most likely) had thrown rocks at the exposed panes.

“Careful.” Link grabbed his friend arm on instinct, as a warning. Rhett just nodded and turned back towards the rest of the house. It had been a long time since they wandered through an abandoned house. They had done it countless times when they were younger but they had little time for such activities as adults.

They passed through the living room. Sofa’s and chairs littered the floor, haphazardly covered with white cloths to protect them from dust. An old fireplace, still dingy with soot, sat crumbling at one end of the room. A few broken lamps lay in a corner near by.

“I don’t like this place,” Link groaned. “It’s too dirty. Let’s get outta here.” Rhett shook his head.

“I wanna see upstairs first.” He pointed to curving staircase in the nearby hallway. Link sighed but followed close behind as his friend led the way. The old steps creaked loudly as they made their way up. It seemed to take forever before they reached the second floor.

It wasn’t much cleaner up there, with cracked walls lined with highlighted squares of slightly brighter paint where frame portraits used to hang. There were few rooms; two bedrooms and a bathroom, each with their own sets of busted up furniture. Rhett headed for the closest bedroom where a huge four post bed sat filling most of the space.

“Rhett…” Link began. His voice trailed off as he stepped closer to the bed. Somehow, in this dank and filthy place, this one bed had remained seemingly untouched by time. It looked brand new, spotless. A heavy, grey comforter lay on its huge mattress and Link ran his hands slowly over its surface.

His friend moved closer to feel the material himself. As his hand crossed over the fabric it brushed over the other man’s fingers. He looked up and found Link looked right back at him.

“It such a shame for this bed to go to waste,” he giggled with a wink. Rhett licked his lips as he realized what his friend was suggesting. He let his hand continue its path across Link’s hand then up his arm. Link didn’t pull away but turned to give his companion better access as he brought his own hands to the buttons on his plaid shirt.

As Rhett pulled him close, they fell to the bed almost in slow motion. Time seemed to have no meaning as he caressed Link’s body, touching every part of his skin he could reach. They rolled until Rhett was on top and he growled in his lover’s ear.

“I want you.” His deep voice echoed softly in the darkness. Link purred back, his body happily squirming beneath the other man.

“Take me,” he whispered back. Rhett started kissing along Link's neck, stopping to nibble now and then, hearing Link’s moans of pleasure from each bite. He grinded his pelvis against him, slowly, harder and harder. The man’s moans grew louder until the neighbors a half a mile away were sure to hear.

“Link…” Rhett grunted. He was inside him now, but he couldn’t remember how he gotten there. He didn’t care as he thrusted inside, again and again. Link couldn’t answer, lost in his own world of sensation. “Link… fuck, Link!” His soft coos quickly became shouts as he came ever closer to climax.

As he finally reached the end, he cried out his lover’s name just as Link cried out his. The bedroom in which they lay faded into the background, followed by the house and the world along with it. Everything seemed to turned to mist as he rolled off of his friend.

He turned to look into the other man’s eyes but the darkness was creeping in fast. Before he could speak another word, everything went black.

Then there was light.

Rhett blinked hard, trying to clear his foggy vision. He was still on his back, but the soft comfort of the mattress was gone, replaced by the hard, unforgiving ground. Above him familiar blue fabric fluttered slightly, as if in a wind, and a soft glow of sunlight shone through it. He blinked again. He was in a tent. A tent he shared with Link.

Turned his head he saw the man in question, still asleep, in his sleeping bag across the small room. Only once Rhett saw him there did his mind click. It had been a dream. A very vivid dream. He shifted, slightly, in his own sleeping bag and felt a strange wetness on his clothes.

‘ _Oh,_ ’ he quietly sighed. ‘ _Great._ That _kind of dream._ ’ Swearing internally, and trying very hard to be quiet, he removed himself from his bed. It was a bit awkward removing his pants and underwear before changing into a clean set, with his arm still in a cast, but he managed to do it without making too much noise. Then, stuffing his soiled clothing into his dirty clothes bag, he sat down and rubbed his face.

For the past week he had been having similar dreams about Link. When he was younger, going through puberty and even in his college days, these dreams had been very common. Over the decades Rhett had learned to control himself and the dreams became far less frequent. He couldn’t understand why they were getting so bad lately. Or so good, depending on your point of view.

These recent dreams were a bit different than those he had experienced as a teenager. They felt more real, more intense. It could be that since his college days he had lost his virginity and had real memories for his unconscious mind to pull from, but even that didn’t seem to explain the vividness. Nor did it explain why, seemingly out of nowhere, these dreams had resumed their near-nightly occurrence.

After a few minutes, Rhett grabbed a shirt and a pair of socks before heading out of the tent. He hoped to shower before too many people were awake. At least, before Link was awake. There was still a chance of a repeat of the previous evening and he didn’t want to risk it.

Luckily there didn’t seem to be many people about. A few old men (some naked, some not) sat in lawn chairs nearby, not really paying attention to the tall man emerging from his tent. Rhett paid them no mind either as he made his way to the open shower. He washed carefully, so as to not hurt his arm, but quickly so he wouldn’t have to be naked longer than he needed to.

Once he was clean and clothed, he felt a great deal less stressed. He could handle being close to Link. He had done it for years. They wouldn’t be staying at the oasis another night so there was little risk another awkward situation. Now if only he could avoid seeing his best friend naked again…

“Hey Rhett!” Link called out, waving as he got closer. Rhett looked up to see his friend, fully clothed (thank goodness) heading towards him. “Didn’t hear you get up this morning. You sleep ok?”

“Fine, yeah. Why?”

“Just wondering. You were turning around a bit last night. I thought maybe the ground was giving you back problems.”

“No, uh, I mean a little. I’m good.” He lifted his arm, slightly. “My arm itches a bit.”

“How’s that feeling, by the way?”

“Feels great, actually. I haven’t even taken an aspirin for it.” Link nodded, smiling.

“Maybe you’ll get it off sooner than the doctors think.” Rhett ignored the obvious, unintended, double meaning and just nodded.

After breakfast the three friends packed up and headed back out on the road. They headed mostly towards home, hoping to traverse another trail or two on the way back. One trail, its entrance marked with two large boulders along with a blue signpost labeling this trail as moderately difficult, looked particularly inviting. They pulled up to the boulders and stopped their cars. They would have to deflate their tires to get over the rocks safely.

As Link and Nick went about the easy but monotonous work, Rhett took the opportunity to stretch his legs. The cruiser wasn’t cramped, even for a tall man such as him, but being locked up inside for long periods still left him stiff in a number of places, mostly his legs and back.

“Hey, Link?” he began, nodding towards a break in the nearby trees. “I’m going to go take a leak. I’ll be right back.” Link glanced nervously towards the treeline but nodded anyway.

“Alright, but try not to get attacked by anything this time.” It was a joke, and a poor one at that, but there was a hint of sincere worry in his voice. Rhett gave him a reassuring smile.

“I’ll be fine.” Taking careful steps through the brush he made his way to a secluded spot to relieve himself. When he finished he didn’t head back right away but looked off at the distant mountains, enjoying the simple pleasures of the magnificent view. It sure was nice to get away from the city to see such beauty. He wished he could see if more often.

Just as he was about to turn and walk back along the path towards the cars and his waiting companions, he heard something rustle in the bushes nearby. His head snapped in its direction and the hairs on the back of his neck started to tingle.

More rustling. He turned his whole body now towards the sound, tilting his head this way and that, trying to see what was there. Then, like a bullet from a gun, a tiny furball shot out from under the bush and dashed across the small clearing. A jack rabbit, no bigger than a grapefruit, skittered crazily as it made its way to a fallen log, trying to hide.

Something inside Rhett snapped. He didn’t think, he just acted. With speed that would have surprised onlookers, had there been any, he leaped at the rabbit, just barely poking out from its wooden refuge. It nimbly bounced out of the way and the blond man got a handful of dirt for his trouble, growling at his failure to catch his prey.

He glared at the rabbit as it headed off into the wilderness, baring his teeth angrily as if the animal cared at all for his feelings. Only when the creature was out of site did Rhett finally realize what he had just done. He shook his head, coming to his senses.

‘ _Why did I do that?_ ’ he wondered. Slowly he climbed to his feet and brushed himself off. His cast, amazingly, was undamaged, albeit now fairly dirty. He didn’t feel any pain from basically falling on it, but he tried not to think about that.

“Rhett?” Link’s voice called out through the trees. “Come on man, let’s get going!” Rhett took one last look where the rabbit had left his sight before walking back towards his friends. He was rubbing his head, still trying to figure himself out, when the cars came into view. Immediately Link ran to his side.

“Oh man, are you ok? Did you fall down back there? Are you hurt?” He searched over his companion looking for any sign of new injury, paying special attention to the now dirt-covered cast on his arm.

“I, uh, I fell, but I’m ok. It’s nothing.”

“Man, you gotta be more careful, dude. That’s all you need, another broken arm.”

“We going or what?” Nick shouted from the driver seat of his own vehicle. Link waved at him with a nod.

“Yeah, we’re coming.” He turned back to Rhett. “You’re good, right?” Rhett nodded.

“Yeah, I’m good.” He patted Link’s back with his good hand and they climbed into the car.

‘ _Sure_ ,’ he thought. ‘ _I’m just fine._ ’ He repeated it a few times in his head, but he couldn’t quite convince himself.


	6. Chapter 6

VidCon went swimmingly, despite Rhett being in an arm cast the entire time. They had originally planned on him playing the guitar while Link played the recorder, but without a fully working left arm it was impossible to play anything resembling a song.

Still it was a fun weekend, interacting with the fans, hanging out with fellow youtubers, and even recording a live ear biscuits episode. By the end they were both exhausted but they didn’t mind. They enjoyed every minute of it.

The week before they were going to start recording episodes for season 8 of Good Mythical Morning, Rhett was still feeling antsy, unable to do many of the activities he had planned to do over the break. Link volunteered to hang out with him, at his house, but the blond man encouraged his friend to go out and hang with some of his other friends. There was no reason for them both to be stuck inside. Link was hesitant to agree, but he knew his friend would be alright, and he was looking forward to going out biking before he had to get back to a somewhat normal work schedule. He missed Rhett, but he enjoyed his time with his other friends.

For Rhett the days slowly crept by. His nights were filled with dreams, many about spending ‘quality time’ with Link, and all of them were extremely vivid. He assumed his research and practice with lucid dreaming had been fruitful, but he never imagined it would be _this_ successful. Each night he made an effort to control his dreams, but he never seemed to do it. Just knowing they were dreams, while he was dreaming, was a feat in and of itself.

Towards the middle of the week, Link called him up and ask if he wanted to see the next Mission Impossible movie, coming out that Friday. Rhett had been looking forward to seeing that movie, and he was quick to say so. He was also looking forward to hanging out with Link again, especially without anyone else along with them. He loved spending time alone with the man he loved, even if he couldn’t be anything more than friends.

Thursday Rhett was sitting at home watching netflix, as he had for most of the past few weeks, but not really paying attention to the program in front of him. His thoughts were on Link; they seemed to be constantly on that man as of late, even more so than he could understand. He wondered if this new season of GMM was going to be too awkward.

Over the years, each new season of the show seemed to bring him closer to revealing his feelings. Awkward moments became more common as he let his feelings for Link slip through in some subtle way. He always played it off as ‘for entertainment purposes’ or ‘just an accident’ and so far it seemed everyone bought his excuses.

The program he was watching came to an end, but he didn’t notice. He laid back on his couch, thinking if a few choice moments in the past had gone too far, if he had pushed the envelope beyond what would be considered normal for a supposedly heterosexual man. Sometimes he didn’t care if he went too far. Sometimes he wanted to shout from the rooftops that he was in love with Link Neal and he didn’t care who heard. Those moments were few and far between; he couldn’t risk the man he loved pulling away from fear or disgust. He couldn’t risk losing him.

But he could dream, as his nights were obvious evidence of. He enjoyed them, keeping them in his thoughts as visions of what could be, if also things that would never be. As the sun began to set, he closed his eyes and thought back to his dreams, about what it would be like to really do things to Link that would make a porn star blush. In his mind, he could be free.

As he thought back, letting himself drift slowly into the dream world where the lines between fantasies and reality became blurred, he didn’t notice as his skin began to itch. He mindlessly scratched his arm, just above the elbow; the only part of his lower left arm he could reach. It had been itching a lot lately, and he didn’t pay it any mind. At first.

The itch got worse. It traveled up his arm and to his chest. His fingernails followed the irritation, digging into his delicate flesh and leaving red marks along the way. He didn’t care. He needed to relieve the itch. Finally he opened his eyes, frustrated that such a simple thing was interrupting his thoughts and attempts to fall asleep. Unbuttoning his shirt he looked to see if there was more to meet the eye beyond the redness developing on his torso. It looked normal, but it felt like there were thousands of tiny bugs just under the the skin of his chest. They spread over his entire torso to his other arm, his neck and stomach. He scratched harder, ignoring the pain of the scratches he was leaving behind.

Growling in anger, he sat up, threw off his shirt and began scratching his back, the itch extending along his whole body now. It was everywhere, and he couldn’t scratch hard enough, or fast enough, to alleviate the irritation. It was maddening and still getting worse. Feverishly trying to get at every place on his body that bothered him, he quickly discarded his pants and began scratching at his long legs. It was then that he noticed that something else was not quite right. His legs were longer than he remembered and, before his very eyes, they were growing.

He stared as his feet got farther away from him, his calves and thighs extending, thickening quickly. The feet themselves got longer, the pads and heels of which were growing larger and longer. He raised a hand to grab them, to check if he was hallucinating, and it was then that he saw his hands. His fingernails, always neatly trimmed now replaced by long claws, were like those of a beast. A cry of surprise and fear escaped his throat, but it came out mangled and rough. He grabbed his own throat, scared and confused, just as his nose began to protrude farther away from his face. He closed his eyes, unwilling to see what his eyes were showing him. It had to be fake; it had to be another dream. No, not a dream. A nightmare. Silently he begged to wake up, for this horrible vision to end.

When he opened his eyes again, he looked down at his body. The change had not stopped, but accelerated. His body, mildly toned normally, was now rippling with muscles, and a thick, brown fur was growing from every part of his skin. He felt the bones in his back bend and twist, extending and morphing inside him. His cast had burst open and lay on the ground beside him, his arm now too large to fit inside.

Rolling off the couch, he struggled to get to his feet. His body was not his anymore; he didn’t recognize it, he didn’t know how to use it. When he finally managed to stand up, his head bumped the ceiling. He grunted in pain, a deep unfamiliar sound. He blinked in pain as his eyes started to burn. Moments later every light in the room seemed to come on and, a second after that, everything went dark.

There was no Rhett. There was no man. There was only the wolf. He dropped to all floors and sniffed the air. The whole house was filled with the scent of a human, a human the beast did not recognize. He moved slowly, trying to understand his new surroundings. This was not the woods, there were no trees, no bushes. There wasn’t even a sky above. The wolf felt trapped and he needed to escape.

He wove his way between unfamiliar shapes, across unfamiliar ground until he could finally see beyond the walls that kept him caged. A small opening, transparent and solid, separated him from freedom. Looking out beyond the window, he could see the moon above, and that gave him some comfort.

Throwing back his head the wolf let out a low howl.

‘ _I don’t want to be here,_ ’ he begged the moon. ‘ _I’m scared and alone._ ’ There was no answer. No call back from the dark, no friend in the distance. The wolf whimpered quietly, uncertain what he should do next. The beautiful moon just looked down silently, and the silence was unnerving.

The wolf moved about the house, trying to find a way to out but there didn’t seem to be a single exit from this horrible structure. He scratched at various things, trying to figure out how to get out. He tried to howl again, but there was never an answer. He whined, pathetically, so lonely in this wicked cage. For ages, it seemed, the wolf wandered, exploring, investigating every sight, every scent, every sound. There was so much to see, smell and hear. So much that was strange and new.

Once the urges of curiosity had been satiated, the sense of panic crept back into his heart. These new things were all well and good, but it was still a cage. He needed to be free of it, to feel the gentle caress of the wind, the warmth of the moon. He needed to get out. 

Then, another scent. Something familiar. The beast followed the scent up a set of stairs and into a smaller room. How could he have not smelled it before? It was so strong in here, despite the multitudes of other scents that permeated the house. Finally he found the source: a single piece of cloth that lay crumbled in the corner. Sniffing it, though the wolf couldn’t place the scent, it made him feel better, more at ease. He lay down on the cloth, curling up against it, nuzzling it. Somehow, the scent made the wolf feel at home. It made him feel safe.

~ ~ ~

When the morning came, the wolf was gone. Rhett sleepily opened his eyes to find himself on the floor of his own bedroom. He rubbed the palm of his hand against his face, trying to remember how he had gotten there, but to no avail. His memory of the past night was a complete blank.

“I must have fallen off the bed,” he muttered to himself. It seemed logical, though it didn’t explain why he was completely naked. Nor did it explain why his cast was long gone. He stretched his arm, testing it. It felt just fine. Surely it couldn’t have been completely healed already? He made a mental note to visit the doctor’s office to check up on it. As he got to his feet, he glanced down at the floor where he had slept. There was a faded green hoodie laying in the corner. It was Link’s.

Rhett picked up the discarded hoodie and looked it over. Link had left it here the last time he came by and Rhett set it amongst his own dirty laundry to clean it before giving it back. He hadn’t had a chance yet to clean or, apparently, really examine at it before now. It was covered in what looked like brown dog hair.

Wondering what brown dog Link had been around recently, Rhett chucked the hoodie into a laundry basket before heading over to his dresser to grab clean clothes to wear. He would ask his friend about the dog hair later. For now he just added it to the ever growing list of questions that he had piling up in his mind lately. Another mystery he needed to solve, one of far too many.


	7. Chapter 7

Link felt guilty for leaving his best friend to fend for himself over the last few days. He wanted to go out and do all the fun activities they had planned on doing before that fateful night in Los Padres National Forest. Rhett has assured him it was fine, that he didn’t mind being left behind while Link went out and had fun, but it didn’t matter. It didn’t feel right leaving him alone.

He was very excited for Friday night, when he and Rhett would be going out to the movies. It was purely platonic, not like a date or anything. They had gone to see movies countless times over the decades; sometimes with other friends but often it was just the two of them. Link relished those times when they went together with no one else. It felt like they were more, even though he knew they never could be. It was fun to pretend.

As usual, Link was designated the driver for their little trip to the theater. He pulled up to Rhett’s house and gave the horn a soft ‘beep’ to let the man know his ride had arrived. When there was no immediate reaction he gave Rhett a few minutes leeway before honking the horn a second time. Nothing happened. He glanced at the clock on his car’s dashboard. It was almost eight thirty. They were going to be late if they didn’t head out soon.

Confused, Link shut off his car and headed up to the front door. Maybe Rhett was asleep. Maybe he had forgotten about their plans and was still getting ready. A few more ideas ran in and out of Link's mind as he knocked loudly on the tall front door of the house, hoping that nothing was actually wrong. There was no answer.

After knocking a few more times, he began to really worry. It wasn’t like Rhett to take this long to get ready, even without much notice. Link bent down and retrieved a small key from beneath the doormat and proceeded to let himself in. The key was kept there for emergencies, but he never had cause to actually use it and was pleased to find that it was still there.

All was quiet inside. A few lights were turned on, here and there, but there was no sign of Rhett.

“Rhett?” Link called out. “We’re gonna be late. You there?” No answer. He looked around the living room, but everything looked normal. He checked the kitchen and dining room. Nothing. “Hello?” he asked again, heading up the stairs to check the rooms there. He glanced into the bedroom and bathroom, but there was no sign of Rhett. No sign that any struggle had taken place, or any foul play. It just looked deserted.

Taking out his cell phone, Link dialed Rhett’s cell number, hoping to get answers. The phone rang once, twice. Three times then went to voicemail. Rhett’s phone was on, he just wasn’t picking up. Was he screening his calls? Link rang the number a few more times, hoping maybe his friend hadn’t heard the phone ring, but no one ever picked up.

Now truly confused, and getting slightly angry, Link headed back down stairs. He looked around the room, near the front door. He opened the hall closet, which hung open loosely. Rhett’s camo jacket was missing, along with his grey mythical shoes.

‘ _Did you go out without me?_ ’ Link wondered. All signs pointed to his best friend leaving the house without telling him where he went, but where could he have gone? Sighing, Link closed the closet and left the house. His cell phone still in hand, he dialed a few of the crew members then a few friends, asking whether or not they had seen Rhett. No one had.

‘ _Maybe he had a date._ ’ The idea was instantly abhorrent. Rhett had been on a few dates, in the past, but every time he went out with a girl, it made Link sad. His friend deserved to go out, have fun and be happy, but he couldn’t help but feel part of him shrivel inside when it was never him. If the man had gone out with someone, and he didn’t tell Link, that made it so much worse. Was Rhett keeping secrets now?

Finally deciding to try calling again in the morning, Link got back into his car. He stared at his steering wheel for a few minutes, trying to pull himself together. He knew his own love was misplaced, that the blond giant would never return his affection, but it still surprised him just how much it could hurt. How much it felt like betrayal when Rhett went out with somebody else.

Shaking his head, Link started the car and drove away. It was silly to feel this way. It was stupid that he couldn’t let go. He had to remind himself, again and again, that facts were facts. Rhett didn’t love him, he didn’t need Link. Not like Link needed him. No one could possibly need anyone the way Link needed him.

~ ~ ~

The next morning Link was rudely awoken by the sharp buzz of his phone on the nightstand. He picked it up and squinted at the screen, trying to read it without his glasses. He didn’t recognize the number, but it had a Burbank area code.

‘ _It’s way too early for this._ ’ The phone unlocked with a click and he placed it against his ear.

“Hello?” His voice was groggy, but he didn’t care. If someone was going to wake him up with a phone call, just after sunrise, he wanted them to know he was groggy. He wanted them to know he was in no mood for whatever they were selling.

“Link?”

Link’s irritated attitude faded immediately from the sound of Rhett’s voice. He sounded more scared than he had in years, and Link was instantly awake.

“Rhett?”

“Link, Thank god. I… Link, I need you. I need your help.”

~ ~ ~

“Did you go out to drink?”

“I don’t know! I don’t remember.” Rhett sounded just as frustrated as Link felt. He was still shivering, despite now being tightly wrapped up in his blue jacket his friend had brought him, along with an entire set of fresh clothes. “I just woke up and I was in that alley behind Lobos.” Lobos was a local bar, but neither had ever gone in, not being big drinkers.

“Buck nekkid, Rhett?” Link spared an incredulous glanced at his friend as he drove them both back towards Rhett’s place. He couldn’t understand what the man was telling him, no matter how many times he repeated it. It just made no sense. “I mean, what were you doing last night when you weren’t meeting me?”

“The last thing I remember is standing outside in the backyard. I was checking my racoon traps-”

“Why do you have raccoon traps?” It was a random question, but Link couldn’t help but interrupt to ask.

“I think I have a family of ‘em livin’ somewhere near by. I think they got into the house and scratched up the place. Even tore up a pair of my boxer shorts. Anyway, I was checking the traps outside and… Next thing I know I wake up behind a dumpster behind that bar, without any clothes on.”

“I thought you went out with someone. Maybe a date or something.” Link swallowed the lump forming in his throat and managed to sound normal as he continued. “I thought you’d forgotten we were going to the movies.”

“I was looking forward to it. I don’t know what happened, but I swear I…” He sighed, dejected. “I guess I can’t be sure what I did. I can’t remember.”

“And where’s your cast? You weren’t supposed to take that thing off for another month.”

“It… fell off?” A strange, conflicted look came over his face, like he wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince himself or Link. “I… I don’t know that either, I guess. I woke up the yesterday and it was gone. I found it on the floor, all tore up. Those things can fall off, can’t they?”

“I’ve never heard of that happening before.”

“Anyway, I went to the doctor afterwards. He said it was all healed up, and I didn’t need a new cast.”

“That’s really… weird.” Rhett nodded, agreeing completely. “At least you aren’t hurt.”

“Thanks for picking me up.” He gave a small smile and Link couldn’t help but smile back. “I don’t know what I would have done…”

“That’s what I’m here for. Picking up my buddy when he passes out at the bar. Just don’t let it happen again, okay?”

“I’ll try.”

~ ~ ~

At the house, Link used the emergency key to let them both in. Rhett didn’t even know what had happened to his pants, let alone where his house keys were. He hoped they, along with his wallet, would turn up soon. He made a mental note to call his credit card company about a possible theft of his cards.

Rhett led his friend through the house to the backyard where they began to look for clues. The back gate by the spare room was open. Link looked over the metal latch; it was barely hanging onto its hinges, like it had been forced open.

“This ringing any bells?” he asked, pointing. Rhett frowned and shook his head.

“No, and it doesn’t make me feel better. I’m beginning to think I got kidnapped last night.” He walked over to the bush where he had hidden the raccoon traps the other day. They were empty and the bait inside was untouched.

“Look here.” Link held up a pair of ratty jeans. “I think I found your pants.” Rhett took the pants and held the shredded clothing up to his face. They were his, alright, but they looked like they had burst at the seams. “There’s a shirt here too, and your jacket and… uh…” He lifted up a pair of dark blue boxers in the same condition as the other clothes.

“This is getting weirder by the minute.” Rhett turned the pockets on his pants inside out and let out a relieved sigh as a set of keys, a wallet and cellphone fell out. He grabbed the phone. Several missed calls, all from Link. “Just before nine,” he noted. “Whatever happened to me happened before that. That’s almost ten hours of lost time. What the hell happened last night?”

“I don’t know Rhett. Let’s check the house. Do you have any liquor, maybe, in the house? Whiskey? Vodka?” He started heading back, torn clothing still in hand.

“I didn’t drink last night. I wouldn’t have-”

“I know it’s unlikely, but since you can’t remember…” Link shrugged, helplessly.

“I guess.” The two men went back into the house and headed straight for the kitchen. Rhett opened the refrigerator and checked inside. “I got an old case of Heineken, but it hasn’t been touched.” Link opened the cabinets, checked under the sink, in the trash and recycling bins, for any sign of a half drunk or empty bottle, but found nothing.

“Maybe someone came by? Gave you something to drink?”

“Who would do that? It makes no sense.”

“Nothing about this makes any sense, Rhett, and until you remember what actually happened, I feel like it’s as good a guess as any.” He leaned against the counter letting out a heavy sigh. “I think we should call the police.”

“And tell them what? That I woke up in an alley and don’t remember how I got there? I’m sure they get cases like that all the time.” He ran his fingers through his hair, still disheveled from the night before. “Nothing was stolen, and I think I’m alright.”

“L.A. Is a weird town, dude. Try to be more careful in the future, I guess.” He shrugged, helplessly.

“Yeah. Oh, hey.” Rhett went to the washroom and grabbed a green hoodie from the dryer. He tossed it at Link who snatched it gracefully. “You left that at my place awhile back.”

“You washed it?”

“Yeah, it was covered in dog hair.”

“Maybe Enzo, or June laid on it at work?” He brought it to his nose and sniffed it, as if that would give him any clues. Rhett shook his head.

“I don’t think so. It was brown hair, and long. You been around any big, furry, wild animals lately?” Link thought about for a second, then smirked.

“Just you, man,” he grinned.


	8. Chapter 8

He was in the house again. The wolf. The last thing he remembered was exploring a dark passage, outside. The passage had been filled with so many new and interesting smells, the beast just had to explore them. Now, back in the cage, he felt trapped. Why did he have to be here again?

The wolf sniffed the air. The smell of that human was everywhere, again. It permeated the air, making it difficult to smell anything else. Like everything else in the house, there was something familiar about that scent, but he couldn’t quite place it. Someone else had been there too, and recently. Following the second scent, the wolf found it familiar too, and far more pleasant. He recognized it as the one from before, from that strange cloth up the stairs. Heading up to the second floor, he made a beeline to the place where the fabric had been last he checked. It was gone.

A sense of panic surged through his body. The scent was strong, in this strange cage, but the source was nowhere to be found, and now even his small piece of comfort was gone. He was truly alone. With a soft whine, he returned to the first floor, searching for that elusive smell. It was stronger down here, more recent. His nose could detect so much from single whiff, but it could not bring him closer to that which he sought. His heart began to race faster as he moved quickly from room to room, searching. Still nothing. He couldn’t stand it anymore. With his nose practically grinding against the cold hard ground, he traced the scent along until he located where the person had last been. It led him straight to a wall.

’ _Let me out!_ ’ he howled. He raised up, placing his large paws against the wall. There were clear panels here, and he could see through them slightly. The pale light of the moon shown through, but even that beauty gave him little comfort. He was still trapped.

Frustrated, and more than a little scared, he began to scratch at the wall, desperate to be released. His long claws dug thick groves into the wood, but it didn’t budge. He barked, hoping someone would hear, that someone would come, but no one did. Anger began to mix with his fear and he turned to the large pieces of furniture in the room behind him. He couldn’t think, he could only act. With his claws and teeth the wolf tore into the room, ripping apart everything he could see. Nothing was safe from his fury and he didn’t care if his mouth was sore afterwards.

He bit until his mouth bled. He clawed until there was nothing left to claw. When he was finally finished, and exhausted, he laid down in the floor, surrounded by the scraps of wood and cloth that he had created. He was tired, he was alone, and he was still trapped. Curling up, with only his tail for company, he silently watched as the moon crept across the sky. Only when the sun started to rise over the horizon, did the wolf finally manage to sleep.

~ ~ ~

The entire house was a mess, trashed furniture littered the floors both upstairs and down. Splinters of wood, shards of glass laid a minefield of possible injury around the tall, blond, and naked man as he gazed about the living room that he could barely recognize. This was his house, but not his home. He had never seen it in such a shambles.

Slowly, carefully, Rhett picked himself up from the cold floor, uncurling from the fetal position and tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He stood near the sliding glass door that led to his backyard, his clothing nowhere to be seen in the mess around him. It was still early and he felt like he hadn’t slept all night. Unsure of what else to do, he carefully made his way across the room to the stairs and headed up.

His cell phone was still sitting on his nightstand, plugged in and undisturbed. If someone came in it wasn’t to steal things. At least it didn’t seem that way. Quickly, Rhett picked it up and dialed the first number that came to mind. Link’s. He knew it was early, and this would be the second time in as many days that he called his friend to help him, but he needed his help. He didn’t know who else to call. The phone rang three times before going to voicemail. Taking a chance, Rhett hung up without leaving a message and called again. This time Link picked up after the first ring.

“Rhett? Wha…” Link sounded just as groggy as the day before and a familiar sensation of guilt sank in Rhett’s stomach. “Did you.. uh, are you at the bar again?”

“No, I’m at home. I think someone broke in. Can you come over?” There was a pause and Rhett knew his friend was checking the time.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll be over in about, uh, twenty minutes. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine.” It was a lie. Rhett was nowhere near okay, at least mentally. Something weird was going on, and it was driving him crazy in the worst way. “Just… come over, okay?” He heard some rustling as Link was no doubt getting out of bed.

“I’m on my way.”

~ ~ ~

This time Rhett didn’t hesitate to call the police at Link’s urging. Things were quickly getting out of hand and he didn’t know what was going to happen next. Someone was seriously messing up his life and he needed to get it under control, and fast. While the authorities examined his entire house with a fine toothed comb, he tried to fill them in with what happened over the past few days. He still had hours of time missing from his memory, but he did his best.

By the time they left, it was already getting late. Most of Rhett’s furniture, or what was left of it, had either been thrown away or taken as evidence. As he looked over the empty living room, he slump against the wall, exhausted.

“Are you okay?” Link asked, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder. Rhett sighed.

“I don’t know. I’m scared, Link. Each night is worse than the next. I’m scared of what is going to happen tonight.”

“Why don’t you spend the night at my place. I can sleep on the couch and you can take my bed.” Rhett smiled, but he couldn’t ask that of Link. Whatever was going on, he had involved his best friend in too much already.

“Link, I-” Link shook his head before his companion could finish that sentence.

“Come on, grab whatever you need. I won’t take no for an answer.” He patted Rhett’s arm, reassuringly. He waited patiently as his friend put together a night bag filled with spare clothes and few bathroom essentials. When Rhett had finished, Link drove him back to his own place. By the time they got there, Rhett was fast asleep against the passenger side window.

Link would have loved to let him rest; God knows the man looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Still, it couldn’t have been that comfortable laying like that, and the man’s back would hate him in the morning if he stayed that way. Without thinking, Link leaned over and brushed an errant hair from the sleeping man’s face. Even with bags under his eyes, his hair disheveled and his beard in dire need of a trim, Rhett looked gorgeous. Plus, in his sleep, the worry and fear that had plagued him was gone, replaced by ignorant serenity. He appeared to be at peace, and Link was sad he had to wake him from it.

“Hey, buddy,” he said after a moment, softly shaking Rhett. “You wanna sleep out here or in a real bed like a human being?” Rhett inhaled sharply and groaned as he came to. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes and looked around, confused for a moment. Looking out the windshield, he saw Link’s house. The evening sun was just beginning to set behind it. Not saying a word, Rhett sleepily unbuckled his seat belt and stumbled out of the car.

The two men entered the house. Rhett had been here many times over the years; he knew it almost as well as his own place. The two-floor flat was about the same size, if arranged differently, and unlike his own home was kept immaculately clean at all times. Link found cleaning it, as well as all his spaces, therapeutic and calming. It gave him a sense of control, something both of them were not feeling a lot of lately.

“You want some water, or something?” Link asked, almost automatically, falling in his role as host. Rhett shook his head.

“I just want to sleep.” He moved slowly, like he was going to fall over at any second.

“Bedroom’s down the hall.” Link motioned towards the mentioned room while moving to block his friend’s path to the couch in the living room.

“Thanks again for this, man. I owe you.”

“Just get some sleep, okay? We can figure out how you can pay me back tomorrow.”

The next morning, Link woke up early. It took him a few seconds to remember why he was on his couch instead of his comfy bed. Picking up his phone, set down on the coffee table next him, he checked the time. It was a little after nine. Sitting up with a stretch, he perked up his ears listening for any sign that his temporary roommate was awake yet.

Not hearing anything, or wanting to wake the sleeping giant, Link decided to forgo his usual morning shower for now and headed for the kitchen to start the coffee maker instead. He had forgotten to set it up the night before and now had to wait for the mind-waking liquid to get to a drinkable temperature. While he waited, he checked his computer. He and Rhett, as well as the crew, were scheduled to start recording the next season of GMM today.

Hopefully Rhett had gotten enough sleep. Link would hate to have a sleepy co-host on their very first episode of the new season. Link wasn’t looking forward to the day’s planned events; the two men were going to try various pet foods to guess what they were and, like all episodes where they ate things, retching was definitely on the agenda.

Just as the coffee began to percolate in the pot, a tall man dressed in only a pair of pajama bottoms shuffled into the room. Using self control built up over many, many years, Link avoided looking at his friend’s bare torso and turned his attention to the refrigerator. He didn’t have much in the way of food but he wanted to make an effort for Rhett.

“Morning,” Rhett greeted, making his way to Link’s side.

“Morning. You sleep okay?”

“Not bad. Your bed is a bit shorter than mine, but it’s softer than the floor at least.” He stretched with a groan. “I think it’s the best night I’ve slept in weeks.”

“Hungry? I mostly have cereal but maybe I can cook, uh…” He scrunched his face, not sure he had anything resembling breakfast food.

“Cereal’s fine.” Rhett smiled. “Really, I don’t mind.” Relieved, Link closed the fridge and opened the nearby cabinet to grab a pair of bowls. As he filled each of them with a generous helping of frosted mini wheats, he watched his friend settle down at the kitchen table.

“You gonna be alright to record today?” he asked, pouring milk into their bowls.

“I’m good. Really. No one came and kidnapped me in the middle of the night, and no one wrecked your house…”

“Definitely a plus.” Link glanced at the clock on the microwave. “Well, eat fast. I don’t want to be late for our first day back.” As he turned around he saw his friend wolfing down his food. Grinning, he shook his head. “Right, of course. What was I thinking.” Rhett gave a sheepish grin back, with a shrug.


	9. Chapter 9

Link drove Rhett to his vacant house as a quick stop before heading back to work. They wanted to make sure nothing weird had happened overnight. Rhett was very relieved to see his home looked just as he had left it the day before and it appeared undisturbed by whomever had been making his nights increasingly unpleasant.

He dropped off his night bag in his bedroom before going back to the car. Everything seemed normal and that was a weight off his mind, but something about the house felt unsettling and he wasn’t sure if he felt entirely safe in there by himself. When he got back to the car where Link was waiting patiently, Rhett wondered if he should get some sort of security system. Maybe something with cameras.

At the studio he made his way through the building to his and Link’s shared office and he was met by many of the crew members, each offering congratulations on Rhett’’s quick recovery, letting both hosts know they were eager to get back to work. Rhett was happy to be back as well. Being back amongst friends in a place that he had spent so many hours working and having fun, made him feel enormously better.

“Hey guys!” Steve greeted, popping in the office, laptop in her hand. “Welcome back.”

“Hey, Stevie.”

“Rhett, it’s good to see you’re okay. From what Link told us, you were hurt pretty bad.”

“Link likes to exaggerate.”

“You were in the hospital for a week, dude,” Link reminded him.

“I’m okay now, though, and ready to get back to work.”

“Well that’s good.” Stevie held up her computer’s screen to show him. “The fans missed you both and we don’t want to disappoint them.” The screen showed numerous YouTube comments from the mythical beasts, many wishing Rhett their best and hoping he was ok. A few were spreading rumors he was actually dead.

Just then Enzo, Stevie’s small dog, wandered in the room. No doubt he was looking for his beloved master and knew she was in here. Rhett bent down to pet the adorable mutt, after all he missed the dog too. Usually the animal was fairly friendly towards him. This time, however, he bared his teeth and snarled a warning. When Rhett didn’t pull away immediately, Enzo tried to bite his hand.

“Enzo!” Stevie exclaimed. She shooed the small dog out of the room with her foot. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Maybe he doesn’t remember me,” Rhett joked. Inside he was just as confused. Enzo was never aggressive. Ever. It didn’t make any sense why he would be now, out of nowhere.

“That’s really weird. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, Stevie. Let’s just get to work.”

The rest of the day passed without incident other than Enzo continuing to avoid Rhett as much as possible. He’d slink away and, seemingly, glare at the tall man every time he passed by. It was weird, but there wasn’t much time to think about it. The start of the new season meant there was a lot to get done.

The recording went swimmingly, especially for an eating episode. No one threw up, or heaved, although the turtle food was pretty bad and Link gagged a little. Rhett squirmed as he chewed the unpleasant mixture of river shrimp, meal worms and other random bits.

“Uh, when you bite into it…” Link noted, disgusted. “Ooh, it releases something.” His co-host beside him wiggled back and forth, trying to come to terms with what his tongue was experiencing.

“I’m turning into a werewoof,” he asserted, a little bit of his southern accent coming through. “It’s really got a… pungent…” Link stuck his tongue out, continuing to make gagging noises. “These are pungent flavor balls.”

“Do any animals eat turds?“ his co-host wondered aloud. "I know they do, and if you’ve done that to us…” He turned his blindfolded head towards where he knew the crew was sitting. “I’m going to be disappointed.” Luckily for both of them, it was only pet food. After they recorded the episode, as well as Good Mythical More, Link went into one of the studio bathrooms to scrub his tongue with an Orabrush and then brush his teeth with a bit too much toothpaste.

Later, when Link walked back into their shared office, Rhett was looking over a newspaper and from the look on his face, he was reading something very intensely.

“What’s up?” he asked, sauntering over to his desk to grab his chapstick. Rhett flopped a page of the paper in front of his friend and pointed at the article.

“Look at this. Another attack.”

“Attack?” Link frowned and skimmed over the words on the page, trying to read faster than his blue eyes would allow.

“At Los Padres. The same place I was attacked.” He ran his hand through his hair, nervously, and started pacing across the small room.

“The same… another attack… what…?”

“A wolf, Link! Some guy was out hiking late over the weekend. They found his body yesterday morning. He was… he was dead, Link.”

“Where, though? Was it anywhere near where you were, uh.. where we were camping?” He looked over the article again and again, hoping there was some error.

“Almost the same place, only a few miles away. Whatever attacked me killed this guy, I know it. It’s still out there.” Taking a break from wearing a bald strip into the carpet, Rhett dropped down into his chair and buried his face in his hands. Link sat back in his own chair and shoved the paper away.

“I can’t believe they never found it. Maybe there’s more of a wolf problem than they thought.” He glanced over to his friend who hadn’t moved. “Are you alright?” After a moment, Rhett finally sat up, keeping his gaze turned downwards.

“That was almost me. I know I played down what happened, I told the crew it wasn’t a big deal, but… It was.. wasn’t it? I mean… I could have-”

“But you didn’t.” Link stood up and walked around to Rhett’s desk, kneeling down infront of him. He wanted so badly to take the man’s hands in his own but he resisted the urge. “You made it out okay and you’re just fine now.”

“It’s because of you, Link.” Rhett slowly looked up and locked eyes with the blue ones before him. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. You saved my life and I don’t think I ever thanked you properly.”

“I know you’d do it for me.”

“In a heartbeat.” There was a silent pause but strangely it wasn’t awkward. After a moment, Rhett opened his mouth again, starting to speak. “Link, I-”

“Hey, guys?” Eddie asked, knocking on the open door of the office. “You got a minute?”

“Yeah, Eddie.” Rhett cleared his throat and Link stood up before heading back to his desk.

“What’s up?”

“We finished the initial editing and we’re ready to show it to you.” He glanced back and forth between his two bosses. “Is now a bad time?”

“Now’s good,” Link assured him. “Let’s see it.” Rhett nodded his agreement before following his co-host and employee out of the room. Whatever he was going to say, he let it fall away into the ether. It could wait. Like many things, it could always wait until later.

~ ~ ~

After work, Rhett was hesitant to go home right away. He sat down at his computer to research different security companies he could call to get a system with cameras installed in his house. He felt a bit overwhelmed with the available choices but, aside for price, his main concern was expediency. He wanted those cameras put in as soon as possible. The sooner the better.

“You ready to head home, Rhett?” Link asked, throwing on his green hoodie. He glanced over his friend’s shoulder at the computer screen. “‘Ultimate Installation Services’,” he read.

“Check this out. Easy installation, digital video system surveillance, and look here…” He clicked one of the many links on the website. “Home automation. I can keep an eye on the place from my phone. How cool is that? I can even set up multiple phones so I can connect your phone in case of emergencies.”

“Looks expensive.”

“It won’t cost _you_ anything, I promise. I think I need this, Link. If anyone tries anything else in my house I want to know about it. I’m sick of this not knowing.”

“Alright alright. Sounds good. Um, are you going to be staying with me until they set it all up?” Rhett bit his lip. He didn’t like the idea of being so much trouble for his friend, although he did like the extra time they could spend together. More than that, he still didn’t feel quite safe in his own home and wasn’t sure he would until he found out exactly what had been going on for the past few days.

“You’re welcome to stay with me as long as it takes,” Link assured him, after his friend stayed silent. “You are always welcome.” Rhett smiled, somewhat sheepishly. It was nice that he could always count on this man.

“Thanks, man. I promise I’ll be out of your hair as soon as possible.” Link nodded in understanding, not vocalizing his desire that Rhett be metaphorically ‘in his hair’ more often.

“Let’s get going then,” he suggested. “It’s getting late and I don’t want to spend forever in traffic.”

~ ~ ~

That night, Link offered his bed to his temporary roommate once again, but this time Rhett was not nearly as dead tired as the day before and wouldn’t accept the kind offer so blindly. He insisted on using the couch, which was just as comfortable. It also felt a lot less weird. Being in the bed of the man he loved (for more than platonic reasons) made him ache for the man even more. He didn’t want to be in that bed alone and he felt he was somehow intruding on the Link’s privacy somehow as he dreamed about sharing it with him.

As he lay on the couch, staring up at the ceiling, he found sleep didn’t come as easily this night. His mind kept him up as they remembered that brief conversation Eddie had interrupted.

‘ _Good thing he came in just then,_ ’ Rhett thought. ‘ _Who knows what stupid thing I was about to confess._ ’ Rolling over to his side, he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force himself to sleep. He couldn’t help but imagine what Link would have said had Rhett been able to finish was ever hair-brained sentence he had been planning on saying.

‘ _I care about you too, Rhett,_ ’ he might have said. ‘ _Just not in that way. Um, maybe we shouldn’t hang out as much anymore. I think you need space._ ’

‘ _I don’t want space,_ ’ Rhett would have replied. ‘ _I want-_ ’

‘ _No,_ ’ he told himself now. ‘ _Nothing good can come from that._ ’ He shifted on the couch again. Suddenly it wasn’t as comfy as before. His eyes wouldn’t stay closed and they found themselves staring back at the ceiling.

Down the hall, in his double bed, Link was staring at the ceiling too. He was trying to figure out what Rhett had been trying to say when their employee ruined the moment they had been having.

‘ _I’m glad we’re friends,_ ’ Link imagined his friend saying. ‘ _I care about you a great deal._ ’

‘ _I care about you too, Rhett._ ’ The brunet may have answered. ‘ _Very much._ ’ He thought about moving his hand until it finally lay on top of his friend’s folded ones. He would feel the heat that seemed to constantly radiate from the man’s skin, and his own heart would begin to race. Leaning closer, his eyes meeting with Rhett’s aqua green gaze, he wouldn’t be able to fight the desire that he fought every moment they were together.

‘ _Link?_ ’ Rhett would wonder aloud. Closer Link would get; every second Rhett didn’t pull away, or push him away, giving him confidence to continue.

‘ _Yes Rhett?_ ’ he’d ask, barely able to look away from those lips that, even when partially hidden by a bushy beard, were so enticing.

‘ _What are you doing?_ ’ His voice would be filled with confusion, but Link wouldn’t have headed it as the warning it was. He’d be too close now; he would press on, hovering just inches away.

‘ _I just… I want…_ ’ He would feel Rhett’s breath on his lips and he knew his own breath was hot and heavy. ‘ _Just once,_ ’ he’d beg. Even in his nighttime daydream, he sounded pathetic. Maybe his friend wouldn’t move and maybe Link would finally have the courage to close that short gap to press their lips together at last.

It didn’t matter though, the maybes and what-ifs. It would always be nothing more than a fantasy conversation. Link shook his head and rolled over. Now was a bad time for such thoughts, with his best friend in the living room at this very moment. They always led to the same conclusion. They would confess their love and live happily ever after, but it was it was a hopeless dream that could never be. In reality, Rhett would think Link was playing around, pulling a joke or prank, and they would move on as friends.

‘ _That’s enough, I guess,_ ’ Link sighed, closing his eyes. It was enough. It had to be.

~ ~ ~

Everything was going great as they started recording the next day’s episode, ‘Living 30 Years In Isolation’. Rhett was upbeat, cheerful and all was just fine until they moved into the side room to film a new segment: 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’. The tall man sat down on the stool next to the massage chair they had rented for the day. Link walked in behind him, moving to sit down chest first and get a massage from Chase. What Rhett did not expect was for his buddy to be completely topless.

"Whoa Link, you… uh… You took your shirt and your glasses off,” he giggled.

“Well, I’m getting a massage,” Link explained as he placed his now unadorned face in the circle of the massage chair, ready for his massage. Rhett couldn’t help but give the other man’s chest a good look over before pulling his gaze away as Chase floated into the room on one of their many air boards. He tried to focus on the segment they were recording and not the fact that his co-host’s bare skin was just inches away; Link’s dangling arm was almost touching his leg.

By the time they finished Link’s massage, Rhett was beginning to feel a fair amount of blood flowing directly to his groin. As he stepped back to the main desk, he spared a glanced downwards to make sure he wasn’t embarrassing himself on camera. It wasn’t that noticeable, but still mentally kicked himself for his own weakness.

Using everything he had learned over the years, he somehow managed to appear focused for the rest of the episode. When they had finished recording that and the Good Mythical More, Rhett excused himself to the bathroom and locked the door. Holding his hands to the sink, he tried to center his mind, but he couldn’t get the image of shirtless Link out of his head.

“What is wrong with you?” he whispered, looking down at his crotch. “A decade of working with him and now you can’t control yourself for five minutes?” As he was trying to figure out if he was going to make it until the end of the day, a loud knock came on the door.

“Hey, Rhett? You okay in there?” It was Link. “You fall in or something?”

“I’m fine. Give me a minute.” Rhett waited until he heard his friend’s footsteps fade away before looking at himself in the mirror. ’ _Get it together,_ ’ he told himself. ’ _Just a few more hours and then we can go home._ ’


	10. Chapter 10

“Ok, you’re all set, Mr. McLaughlin.” Mr. Warren held up his clipboard and a pen. Rhett took them both and gave the papers a quick glance over.

“The video from the cameras; only I can see it, right?”

“Yup. All recordings are private and sent to your personal dedicated server. You can access them at any time from any of the devices you specify, and only you or people you give your password to can see them. It’s standard policy.” Rhett nodded. He was happy to finally have the security installed in his house but he was wary about anyone seeing him walking around his house in his boxers, or worse nothing at all, which he was prone to do. He quickly scribbled down his signature on the order sheet.

“Good.” He handed back the pen and papers with a small nod and Mr. Warren took them with a nod of his own.

“If you need anything else, just give us a call.” The shorter man handed Rhett a business card.

“Thank you, I will.”

Once the installation man was gone, Rhett surveyed his newly secured house. There was a video camera in almost every room of the building, except for the bathrooms. He was nervous about someone breaking in again but not so much that he wanted to risk video of him taking a shower or peeing to be caught on tape. He thought about not putting one in the bedroom, but he never had anyone over for there to be any embarrassing activity to record in there, unfortunately. Besides, he felt safer with the camera in there.

He had been staying with Link a few days now and he was quite ambivalent about going back to living on his own. It had been a nice respite, living with his best friend, and he was going to miss waking up and eating breakfast together, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he slipped up and made things awkward. When they were in college he could get away with it, but these days he felt it would just make their lives difficult. Well, his anyway.

There hadn’t been any more incidents at the house and Rhett was beginning to think that whomever was messing with him had given up when their choice of victim was nowhere to be found. Maybe with this security system, it would keep anyone from breaking in, kidnapping him, or whatever they had done. The possibility of sleepwalking being the culprit instead of some random stranger had also crossed his mind. If that were the case, the cameras would catch that on tape too and if it ever happened again he would be able to find out that it was so. With no memory of those three nights, anything was possible. He hoped he never had a repeat of the strange events but, if he did, he would have it all on tape. Whatever happened, he would be able to finally solve the mystery and put his mind to rest.

The first week, nothing happened. He bought some new furniture to replace those pieces that had been completely destroyed or taken by the police. The police, meanwhile, had absolutely no leads as to what exactly happened that night. They said they would keep an eye out for any similar incidents in the neighborhood, but that was just a polite way of saying they were dropping the case. Rhett didn’t have high hopes that they would find anything anyway.

The second week was just as uneventful as the first. Good Mythical Morning, season 8, was going wonderfully; the fans were loving the newest episodes. The two co-hosts were adding so many new concepts to the show to mix it up that Rhett didn’t have time to dwell on the blackouts. He put them out of his mind completely and he felt that his life was finally back on track. Even the dogs, Enzo and June, stopped treating him like an enemy, going back to peaceful indifference.

Near the end of the third week, Rhett and Link were recording the “Unusual Ways to Kill Boredom” episode featuring a Chunk skit, starring the fictional band they made up, as well as a skit for their ‘Reen-acne-ments’ series. Both skits had been filmed earlier in the week, but now the actual episode was to be filmed.

Rhett wasn’t really feeling into the show today, but they had a guest watching them. Pam, Jen’s mother, was visiting from Canada and was even on Good Mythical More. It was a nice, short little bit where she gave them a moose coat hanger and talked about the black eye her daughter suffered at the hands of a slushie machine, but Rhett was very happy when everything was said and done. His politeness seemed to evaporate once the guest had left for the day and he was alone in the main office.

While there hadn’t been any unaccounted for moments over the past few weeks, the last few nights had his dreams in an uproar again. His intense dreams about Link, and things he wanted to do with Link, were back in force. They didn’t keep him up, but they made the times he was close to the man feel more strained than they actually were. Rhett couldn’t wait for the weekend to hurry up and begin.

“Hey, Rhett!” Link practically bounced into the room, suddenly, still full of energy. While playing host was always a bit more draining for Rhett, the shorter man seemed to thrive off it. He loved having an audience, especially one he could see and talk to. It riled him up in a rather annoying way and now, with his co-host not feeling his best, Link’s antics were all the more irritating.

“Yeah, Link?” Rhett asked, not really in the mood for his friend’s chipper attitude. Link immediately noticed his sour tone.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing, I’m just ready for the weekend.”

“You wanna do anything? Surfing? We haven’t done that in a while.” Normally Rhett would have loved to do that, but it was only thursday and he was already feeling emotionally and physically drained. He wanted to spend his days off relaxing at home, alone.

“No, I think I’m gonna watch this documentary on Netflix I’ve been meaning to watch.” Link shrugged and nodded, falling into his chair with an exaggerated swoon.

“What is it? Maybe we could watch it together?” He grabbed a pen and tapped it on the desk, absentmindedly.

‘ _That could be fun, _’ Rhett noted to himself, ‘ _but only if Link could calm down for a minute._ ’__

__“Sure, I guess. It’s called ‘The Source Family’,” he began. “It’s about this cult…”_ _

__“Ooh, a cult. Let me guess, the cult leader has a harem.” Link rolled his chair over to Rhett’s and leaned against him, feux seductively. “Do you want a harem, Rhett? Women to have your way with?” He made a strange face and flung his arms about wildly. His body was way too close to the other man, whose tense mood was suddenly mixed with memories of the rather explicit dream he had last night about having his friend bent over the GMM desk._ _

__Blushing furiously, Rhett shoved his colleague away._ _

__“Knock it off, Man,” he muttered. Link frowned but rolled his chair back a few feet._ _

__“What’s wrong with you?” he asked again._ _

__“Nothing, just… just leave me be.”_ _

__“If something is wrong, you should tell me.” Link pushed his chair an experimental bit forward, just far enough so he could place a hand on his friend’s arm sympathetically. “Maybe you just need to relax, you know. Sometimes you push yourself too hard.”_ _

__Images of Link over the desk crossed through Rhett’s head again._ _

__‘ _Harder, oh god yes, Rhett, fuck!_ ’ Link in Rhett’s dream had screamed. The sudden flashback sent a bolt of electricity through Rhett’s body. He jolted back, grabbing Link’s hand and throwing it off of him, frustrated. Reality and fantasy had just come far too close for comfort. He needed to leave, he just… had to. He got to his feet in an instant and when he next spoke, his voice was quiet, yet dark._ _

__“Just leave me alone. Damn it, Link.” Without another word, or a single glance at his coworker, Rhett stormed out of the room. Link blinked, confused and hurt, as his friend left him all alone._ _

__‘ _What did I do now?_ ’ he wondered._ _

__The two men didn’t talk the entire car ride home. Rhett felt like he should apologize but he wasn’t sure how to explain why he was in such a strange mood. Link just let his friend mull in his own grump figuring he was just tired. He hoped Rhett would be back to his happy self tomorrow._ _

____

~ ~ ~

The next day Rhett did seem to be in a better mood when Link picked him up in the morning. He was still a bit standoffish but his smile and bright greeting gave the brunet hope for the rest of the day.

Rhett did his utmost to project a positive attitude, to make up for his sour mood the day before. He had dreamt about Link again last night. This time they were camping again at the nude oasis and they were making out in the hot tub. Hoping to avoid any embarrassing situations, he had preemptively jerked off in the shower that morning before going out. It was a drastic measure he hadn’t done in years but he felt it was necessary if he was going to make it to the weekend without any incidents.

It turned out to be a very fun episode, despite being yet another ‘food eating’ one. Both men enjoyed taping and by the end of it, Rhett was full of so much energy, he felt like he could run a marathon. He was practically buzzing around the office as he waited for Link to finish up whatever he was working on.

“Come on, Link,” he whined. “Let’s go do something. You wanna go surfing? See a movie? I’m up for anything right now.” Link rolled his eyes at his hyper companion.

“I need to finish these emails first. Settle down, will ya? I’m glad you aren’t mopy anymore but, geez, man.” He adjusted his glasses as he turned back to his computer screen. “It’s like you’re bipolar or something.”

“I just feel so… _energized_ or something.” Rhett hopped up and down a few times before making punching motions towards the nearest wall. “Maybe I should take up boxing. I bet I’d be good at that.” He took a long stride back towards his friend. “You wanna take boxing lessons with me, Link?”

“Not really, no.”

“I should start boxing,” Rhett repeated, quietly, to himself as he took a few more test punches. Link rolled his eyes.

‘ _Yeah, that’ll last about a week,_ ’ Link thought to himself, unable to hold back a tiny knowing smile. His friend had a tendency to get into a lot of different interests, but few lasted very long.

“Did you eat your burrito yet? Why don’t you go do that?” he suggested. He was hoping a full stomach might slow down his hyper companion. Rhett gave a quick head shake as he resumed his practice punches.

“Already ate it. I am still hungry though. You wanna go eat somewhere? Whatta ya feel like?”

“How can you still be hungry? That burrito was huge!”

“I don’t know, man. I’m starved.” He paused, thinking about this for a moment. “Let’s go eat. I could eat a horse, I’m so hungry.” When Link didn’t respond with more than a sigh, Rhett grabbed his friend by the arm and tried to drag him to his feet.

“Wha- what the hell man?” Link ripped out of his co-host’s grasp and stared at him confused and furious. “What is wrong with you?” Rhett looked hurt, but also equally confused. He wasn’t sure, himself, why he had just done that. Link re-situated his shirt and fixed his glasses which had both gone eschew. “I think you need to go take a walk and sort yourself out. I’ll call you when I’m done here.” He went back to typing, his brow still furrowed in frustration.

“Don’t bother,” Rhett responded, his tone angry but with hints of sadness. “I think I’ll just take a cab.”

“Sounds good to me,” Link agreed, not looking up. Rhett paused moment, looking down at his friend, waiting for him to change his mind, but he knew it was pointless. He knew he had messed up. Nodding, he headed out of the office. He didn’t see his friend’s gaze follow him out, or his expression soften to concern.

‘ _What is going on with him lately?_ ’ Link wondered. Rhett took a long walk after that. He walked for several miles before calling a taxi to take him home. Deep down he knew if he called Link, the man would have given him a ride, but he couldn’t look in those blue eyes just then. Maybe he just needed some time. Maybe he was under more stressed than he thought.

When he stepped into his house and shut the door, he closed his eyes, leaned back against it and took a deep, cleansing breath.

’ _This can’t go on,_ ’ he thought to himself. ’ _Something has to give. Something has to change._ ’


	11. Chapter 11

Back in the cage. Again. The wolf looked around his familiar prison with dismay. The last thing he remembered, he was falling asleep in a pile of destruction but things were different now. New, untarnished pieces of wood and fabric were placed around him, with new scents to investigate. The beast allowed himself a few minutes to check out these new things before going back to his now practiced routine of patrolling the house. Once again, he appeared to be trapped inside. The urge to destroy everything in sight was almost overwhelming, but the wolf understood it wouldn’t do any good. He understood it wouldn’t help him escape. He had to try something else.

Methodically, he circled what appeared to be the outermost wall of his cage, searching for anything he could squeeze through, or break down. Searching for anyway he could get outside. Slowly, inch by inch, he searched, using his eyes and nose to scope out every room. It seemed all but impenetrable until, on the second floor, there was a crack. A small crack, a frame of wood around a square of glass. An open window. It wasn’t wide enough for him to fit, but pressing against it caused it to move outwards. A gust of wind blew in, carrying the enticing smells of the outside world. Scents that called out to him, begged him to join them in the night air.

One last push and the crack was just barely wide enough for the large animal and he was through. He fell several feet to the ground, but he landed gracefully on the soft grass. He was free.

Tracing his steps, the wolf made his way along a path similar to the one he traveled last time he was outside of that wretched prison. He didn’t know why, but he needed to continue his investigations of that alleyway. There was something there he needed to find, he just didn’t know what. A scent, something strangely familiar yet eerie. Something, a person, or a creature, had been near here. The wolf was fascinated by the scent, but also scared of it. It was new, it was old; it was enticing, it was frightening. The only solution was to track down its source. There was no other choice.

Around a corner, past a dumpster, the scent led the beast to what appeared to be a dead end. Even with his great eyesight, he couldn’t see another way out other than the way he had entered, but his nose told a different story. The scent was stronger here, so very strong. In the very back of the alley, near the base of the brick building, the scent was at its absolute strongest. It was there the wolf pressed its nose, trying to understand.

There was a quiet ‘click’. Well, it would have been quiet to a human’s ears. The wolf’s ears perked up as part of the wall, a door, pulled away revealing a darkened room. The smell was coming from inside but it was so dark not even his amazing eyes could pierce the shadows. With a small bit of hesitation, he tentatively stepped inside.

As soon as his tail passed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind him. Immediately he swiveled around but it was pitch black. Seconds later, he felt something wrap around his neck and pulled tight. Whatever it was, it was strong. He reared back, trying to pull away, but it held him fast, clinking loudly.

“Might as well get comfortable,” said a deep voice. “You’re gonna be here awhile.” There was the sound of another door opening and for a split second there was light. A lone figure, a human, was leaving the room. Quickly closing the door behind him, he left the wolf alone again, alone in darkness.

Despite the voice’s advice, the wolf fought against whatever was holding him. It did no good, but he was scared and angry. He thrashed until he was sore and tired. When all his strength was finally spent he lay on the cold floor, in the dark, whimpering pathetically.

’ _Why?_ ’ was all he could wonder until sleep eventually took him again.

~ ~ ~

Eventually the sun rose the next morning, but the wolf wasn’t around to see it. Rhett couldn’t see it either. He was in a room with no windows and two doors that were bolted shut. There was a single light bulb, hanging from the ceiling. It cast just enough light to illuminate the small area. As his eyes opened and took in the sight of the bare, concrete room, he felt more terrified than he ever had in his life.

There was no furniture, no wallpaper or paint. The floor was bare except for a metal drain in the far corner. The walls were equally unmarked; only a thick, iron ring jutting from the wall could be seen. From it, a massive chain hung, leading a short line from the wall to wrap around his neck, loosely. Upon seeing it, and realizing what it was, Rhett lifted it off and dropped it on the floor with a 'clank’. It was very heavy and the sound of it hitting the floor echoed in the empty room.

He shivered, naked on the floor, alone for a few minutes more before he heard a bolt unlock from the other side of one door. It creaked, ominously, as it opened, revealing a very muscular bald man in a sleeveless shirt and dark pants. He looked Rhett up and down before opening the door further and stepping inside.

“Morning,” he said with a smile. In any other circumstance, Rhett would have found his tone warm and inviting, but he shrunk away from him as he approached. “Good to see you awake, finally. I thought you were going to sleep the whole morning away.” He offered a hand, to help the naked man too his feet, but it was ignored. Taking no offense, the bald man shrugged and stepped back. “I ain’t gonna hurt ya. I’m Max.”

“Rhett.” Hoping that the situation wasn’t as hopeless as it seemed, Rhett got to his feet, covering himself as best he could. “Where am I?” 

“Lobos, it’s a bar downtown on 6th. Specifically? Theo’s holding room. He’s the bartender slash owner. I’m the bouncer slash handler.”

“Why does a bartender need to hold people?” At this, Max gave a short chuckle.

“It’s not to hold anyone but himself, usually.”

“What?”

“Come on.” Max stepped out of the room, motioning for Rhett to follow him. “I’ll let him explain it himself.” The taller man hesitated, still skeptical. “At least, we can get you something to put on, huh?” With a sigh, Rhett followed. If this was a kidnapping, it wasn’t like any he had ever heard of.

Beyond the room, there was a hallway. It led past men’s and women’s bathrooms, to an office door. Behind them, the hallway led to a larger open room: the main lounge of the bar. He thought about making a mad dash for the exit he saw at the far end, but the bouncer was just inches from him, and while his face was mostly friendly, Rhett could see in his eye he knew just what the naked man was thinking. He looked ready for anything his prisoner might try.

Swallowing hard, Rhett followed Max to the office door, obediently and waited as he knocked on the hollow wood.

“Hey Theo, he’s awake.”

“Oh, come in!” came a muffled voice. The bald man opened the door. On the other side a much smaller man, with shaggy brown hair and a plain white undershirt sat behind a desk in a slightly cluttered room. He grinned, his bright green eyes glinting excitedly, as Rhett stepped in, but then his smile faltered at he looked closer. Leaning over, to catch Max’s eye, he nodded towards a nearby closet. “Get him a blanket, will ya?”

The bald man retrieved a grey blanket from the closet and wrapped it around Rhett who was grateful for the warmth and modesty. When he was sure he was no longer needed, Max left the other two men alone.

Once Max was gone, Theo motioned for Rhett to sit in a nearby chair, and he sat down, cautiously.

“I’m sure you have lots of questions. I’m Theo.”

“Rhett.”

“Nice to meet you. I hope the room wasn’t too unpleasant. I had to spend the night in the bathroom. That wasn’t fun, let me tell you. Before we start, uh, how, um… How old are you?”

“Thirty seven.” Theo chuckled and Rhett gave him an odd look.

“You’re green as hell, ain’t ya? I meant your wolf age. You don’t strike me as purebred.” Still confused, Rhett didn’t know how to respond. He wondered if he ran, how far he could get. Max was probably still fairly close and though he was shorter than Rhett, he looked a great deal tougher. Reading his guest’s face, Theo sighed and scratched his chin. He had about a night’s growth of facial hair, and he looked like he hadn’t bathed yet that day.

“Ok, let’s start with a different question. Have you been attacked by an animal recently? Maybe a rather large animal?”

“I got attacked by a big wolf about two months ago.”

“Wow, still just a pup, huh?” He leaned back in his chair, he eyes focusing on nothing in particular for a moment before looking back at Rhett. “Sounds like you made it through your first moons at least.”

“My what?”

“Your first…” Theo looked became concerned, like he was about to tell a child there was no Santa Claus. “You do know what you are, right? I’m sure you must have at least suspected. Ever since that attack… things have been a little off? You’ve felt strange urges, dogs have acted weird around you. You’ve lost whole nights-”

“Look, I don’t have any money on me. Obviously. I don’t know what you want-”

“Hey, I’m just here to help. Really. It took me a long time to get my setup here. I’m lucky I have Max to keep an eye on me during my moons. If you don’t have anyone it can get rough.”

“I think I’ll be fine, I just… I need to call my friend.” Rhett got to his feet. ’ _Or maybe the police,_ ’ he added to himself.

“Your friend wouldn’t happen to be a cop, would he?” Theo asked, as if reading the other man’s mind. “Look, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I mean, if you don’t even suspect something’s wrong, you’re gonna have a hard time. Mutts like you don’t last very long without help. You’d be wise to take my advice.”

“I’ll take my chances.” Rhett stepped backwards until his back hit the office door. The bartender sighed, but nodded.

“I wish you luck then, Rhett. I really do.” Rhett grabbed the doorknob and turned it. “At least let me say one thing and, please, take it to heart for the good of everyone.”

“What’s that?”

“Tonight, before the sun sets… get yourself someplace safe, someplace secure. No one wants a rogue werewolf loose in the streets of L.A.” Rhett bit his tongue, holding back the many things he wanted to say about that advice, this man and his possible state of mind, before heading out of the room without looking back.

He walked by Max on his way past the bar. He was a little afraid the bouncer was going to stop him, but he just smiled and nodded, kindly. Rhett nodded back but couldn’t find it in himself to smile. Quickly, he walked over to the payphone at the far end of the room. Tucking the bulky blanket tightly around himself, he lifted the phone and raised his fingers to dial 911, but then he paused. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t do it. Theo was right about one thing: ever since Rhett was attacked by that wolf, something was different. He was different.

He resolved to check the video recordings once he got come, reserving judgement until he saw exactly what had happened last night. He thought about calling Link but he didn’t want to bother him on his day off. Instead he dialed another number on his very short list of names he could count on in an emergency.

The phone picked up after the second ring.

“Hello?” Came a very sleepy voice. Rhett cleared his throat.

“Yeah, hey, Nick? I need a favor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some terminology from this chapter:
> 
> **Wolf Age:** How long someone has been a werewolf.  
>  **Moons:** The three nights a month when the moon is full.  
>  **Handler:** A regular human who watches over a werewolf during his/her moons.  
>  **Mutt:** A human turned into a werewolf by another werewolf through infection.  
>  **Purebred:** To be born as a werewolf because one or both parents is a werewolf.


	12. Chapter 12

Rhett didn’t say much as he sat, staring out of the passenger side window of Nick’s car, fidgeting in the clothing the shorter man had brought him to wear. It wasn’t like when Link gave him a ride, last time. He didn’t want to answer any questions, and his friend knew well enough not to ask any. They didn’t have that type of friendship.

As Rhett got of the car, once it stopped out in front of his house, Nick did ask if everything was alright; if Rhett was okay.

“I’ll be fine,” he lied, giving a most convincing smile. “Thanks again.” He turned and headed up the walk to the front door, ignoring the way Nick looked him up and down, trying to figure out what was going on. Rhett didn’t know either, if he was honest, but he hoped he would find out soon.

Once inside, he made a beeline to his home office where his laptop lay, waiting. His hands were shaking, slightly, as he booted it up and logged onto the UIS video servers. He took a deep breath as he selected the recording for last night, searching for the moment he blacked out. At first, he saw nothing. The camera in the living room showed him lying on the couch, watching TV. He remembered that; he usually watched Netflix before going upstairs to bed. This wasn’t new information. Hitting the fastforward button, he saw himself turn the TV off and stand up, no doubt to go to bed.

Rhett’s fingers slid across the touchpad, moving the pointer over to fast forward again, fully expecting nothing interesting to occur until after he went to bed. He stopped as he saw his past self suddenly double over in pain. Confused, he leaned forward, trying to figure out what had been wrong. His confusion increased tenfold as the video continued to play. He watched as his past self suddenly began to grow. He grew taller, wider, and his clothing bursting apart, no longer able to fit around the man’s increased size. Instead of bare skin, he was covered in dark fur, and his entire body was morphing into something entirely different. Before his very eyes, the man transformed from someone he had seen countless times in the mirror and on video into a very large, very ferocious, wolf.

As he watched the beast pace around his home, he tried to wrap his brain around what he was seeing. There was no way this was real, it couldn’t be. Yet inside he knew the truth. He couldn’t deny the facts. Seeing was indeed believing, and what he was seeing was incredible. Rhett’s first thought was to call Link and tell him everything, but he knew no one would believe him. If the video had been accessible to anyone but him, he wouldn’t have believed it himself but only he knew for sure it hadn’t been tampered with. Anyone else would think it was a trick, a very realistic special effect, and if he insisted it was real, they’d think he was crazy. He couldn’t tell anyone.

’ _Except… Maybe…_ ’ He did a quick Google search to find the phone number for that bar downtown. He really didn’t want to talk to the guys who, less than an hour ago he thought kidnapped him, but Theo’s words echoed in his memory.

’ _Werewolf,_ ’ he had said. It sounded insane then; maybe he _was_ insane. Then again, as Rhett watched the wolf on the screen crawl through the upstairs casement window and out of the house, he was pretty sure he might be insane himself. That was a definite possibility.

~ ~ ~

A few weeks later it had been a short day recording Good Mythical Morning and More, and it was Friday so Link thought he could entice his best friend to go see a movie that afternoon. As he and Rhett were packing up to leave for the day, he gently nudged the taller man with his elbow in passing.

“That Maze Runner movie came out today,” he told him, excited. “You saw the first one right? Want to go see it tonight?”

“Um, not tonight. I, uh, I’m going to hang out with Theo tonight.”

“Who’s Theo? Do I know him?” Rhett shook his head as he went to grab his jacket.

“No, I don’t think so. I met him at a bar downtown a few weeks ago.” Link was glad Rhett wasn’t looking at him as he said this; he didn’t want his cohost to know how shocked he now looked.

‘ _You met a guy in a bar?_ ’ he silently wondered. ‘ _You’re meeting guys in bars now?_ ’

‘ _None of your business, Link,_ ’ he reminded himself.

‘ _Bullshit,_ ’ he retorted. All this flashed through his mind as he tried to get his face back to a neutral expression. Grabbing his own coat he followed his tall friend out to the parking lot, unsure what to say at first. As he fastened his seatbelt he tried to continue, as if everything was normal.

“Well, what about tomorrow? Maybe we could catch a matinee?”

“Uh, this whole weekend is really bad. Theo is gonna help me remodel my basement.”

“Your basement?” Link knew Rhett’s basement wasn’t very large, and completely unfurnished. He wondered what they were planning.

“Yeah. Had some trouble with rain getting in. It’s no big deal.”

“Well, can I help? I could-”

“I think we’re good,” Rhett interrupted. “Like, I said, it’s no big deal.” Link frowned, but said nothing.

‘ _If it’s no big deal, why is it going to take all weekend?_ ’ Ignoring the sinking sensation in his stomach, Link didn’t press the matter further, but drove the rest of the way in silence.

After he got home, hung up his jacket and slipped out of his shoes, Link walked across his living room, set his glasses on the coffee table, and flopped, face down, on the couch. He hated himself for being jealous. He hated himself for being sad. More than anything, he hated himself for being weak. Of course, Rhett had always had other friends then Link, that wasn’t new, but Rhett had never refused help from the friend he had known for over thirty years. It was like he didn’t want him to come over. It was like he wanted to be alone with this ‘Theo’.

Link rolled on his side, staring at the blurry room around him, feeling puzzle pieces fall into place. It made sense. It made no sense. Rhett met some guy at a bar, didn’t tell his supposed best friend about it, and now wanted to spend time alone with him? Surely the obvious conclusion couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t.

Rubbing his eyes, Link rolled again onto his back, trying to iron out his flimsy theory. If what he was thinking was true, it would mean he didn’t know Rhett as well as he thought he did. It would mean the man had been keeping secrets, big secrets, from Link and everyone else they both knew. It would mean…

‘ _Rhett is not gay,_ ’ he told himself, frustrated. He got up from the couch, moving about the house and trying to figure out something to do that would distract him from these weird thoughts. ‘ _You just want him to be._ ’

‘ _He met a guy in a bar!_ ’ his mind yelled back. ‘ _There is only one kind of guy you meet in a bar._ ’

‘ _Yeah, one night stands, but they have apparently been hanging out a lot, so that can’t be it._ ’

‘ _Maybe it started out as a one night stand, but then became more._ ’

“Stop it!” The sound of his real voice startled him. He looked down at his hands. They were shaking. “You need to stop this pointless speculation. So what if Rhett has a friend? He’s allowed to have friends. He’s even allowed to… to have…” The words caught in his throat. He didn’t want to admit something that meant Rhett was anything but straight as an arrow. That would just lead to other, more painful questions. Like, why not Link? Why not the man who grew up with him? The man that stood by him for decades? The man who loved him?

These were questions Link wasn’t ready to ask, let alone have answered. He decided to believe everything was all in his head and he was making a big deal out of nothing. Still, as went about the rest of his day, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he just didn’t know Rhett as well as he thought. Not anymore. Rhett had changed.

~ ~ ~

For the most part, Rhett’s friendship with Theo didn’t interfere with Link’s life too much. Rhett never introduced the stranger to his co-host, and he was perfectly happy not knowing him. Well, half of him was happy to be ignorant while the other half wanted to know who had captured the tall man’s attention.

After a few months, however, a strange pattern began to emerge. Seemingly every few weeks or so, Rhett would take two or three days off from work even if it was a weekday. At first it wasn’t a big deal; he made it up to Link and the crew by shooting extra episodes on the days before or after his brief vacations so it didn’t interfere with the recording schedule too much. Link figured it was alright. Rhett was his own boss and co-owner of their Mythical Entertainment company. If he wanted to take days off to do his own thing, that was his prerogative.

Then Christmas came around. Usually they flew back home to North Carolina and spent the holiday with their respective families. They normally didn’t spend any of that time together, figuring they spent so much time together in their daily lives, but Rhett didn’t seem interested in even spending Christmas with his own family. Saying he wasn’t feeling well, and didn’t want to give his folks whatever illness he was apparently coming down with, he decided to stay home while Link was gone.

This was not like him. Rhett didn’t like canceling a GMM recording when he had a cold, let alone spending time with his family back East. Concerned, Link tried to talk him into making the trip, but Rhett just brushed him off.

“Leave it alone, Link,” he had responded, being far more blunt than normal. He refused to discuss it further and didn’t answer the phone when his best friend called him.

Link tried to call him again during the holidays, but Rhett didn’t answer at all. Then, when they reunited in January, he acted as if everything was fine. Sure he apologized for basically being a jerk, but he chalked it up to not feeling well. Not wanting to be nosey, his co-host let it go. Despite his better judgement, he just accepted the apology, hoping things would get back to normal soon.

Rhett’s monthly vacations did seem to help his mental state after all. The days leading up to them he was increasingly agitated, sometimes even hostile. Then, when he returned to work, he behaved like he had gone to a three-day spa. He was friendly, carefree, and his usual charming self. While it didn’t seem like a sustainable routine, it worked well enough. Link just wished he knew if something else was going on or not.

A few months later, they were working on another music video for their main channel. It was Friday and it supposed to be Rhett’s first night off so he was even more cranky than usual. He fought Link at almost every turn, he argued over every little thing, and it was beginning to get on his co-host’s last nerve. They were working much later than they had planned and, as far as Rhett was concerned, they were eating into his vacation time. He didn’t like it one bit.

“It doesn’t even matter,” he was saying, his tone gradually getting closer to actual yelling. “Can’t we just finish when I get back?”

“First of all, no we can’t. We need to get this done tonight so we can start filming when you get back. Secondly, you aren’t even going anywhere. You are going home to sit around your house for a few days doing God-knows what so you can ‘recharge’, whatever that means…”

“Maybe I just need a break from you!” This time he really did yell, and they were both glad the rest of the crew had left for the night already. “Damn it, Link. Sometimes you just…” He flailed his hands, gesturing wildly.

“Just what? Go on then, finish your thought!” Link was getting pissed too, now. Why couldn’t Rhett just be professional?

“You drive me insane. You know that?” With heavy steps he closed the short gap that separated them and stood, toe to toe, with the other man. He stood to his full height, staring down at Link, his eyes flashing with anger. From this distance, Link could feel heat radiating off of him, like standing next to a lit stove. “Sometimes I can’t even stand you.”

“You aren’t a barrel of laughs to work with right now, either.” Link tried to sound intimidating, or at least confident, but despite his own anger, being this close to Rhett brought an entirely different emotion to the surface. Somehow, even during his friend’s furious rage, the shorter man couldn’t help but feel the urge to grab him, hold him close. Maybe even…

“I didn’t want to work this late, you did.” Rhett’s voice shook Link from his thoughts, reminding him they were actually fighting right now. Link didn’t want to fight anymore, though. He hated it when they fought. Bringing a tentative hand to his friend’s arm, hoping to calm him, he spoke in a calming voice.

“I know, but we put this off for too long. Just a bit longer, okay?” Confused, Rhett didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t expect the fight to suddenly end; he was ready to keep venting and was thrown completely off by his friend’s kind demeanor. Looking down at the hand that was lightly holding his arm, he visibly swallowed. When he looked back up at Link, his anger was gone, replaced by something else. There was a split second when his eyes glanced at Link's lips. Slowly, he leaned forward…

“I need to leave.” He turned away, sharply, grabbing up his jacket and heading for the door. He had driving himself to work that morning, so that he didn’t have to rely on Link after work, just like every day before his vacation.

“Wait, please don’t go.” Link didn’t want his friend to leave without knowing the fight was really over.

“I’ll see you.” Without another word, Rhett headed down the hall towards the exit. His long legs made it out of the building and to his car before Link could even get outside. Link watched as the other man drove off, unsure if he should follow in his own car or let him be. In the end, he decided he should just head back to his own home. Maybe his friend just needed some time alone. It seemed he needed that a lot, lately.


	13. Chapter 13

Link went home that evening, running the events of the day over in his head. He and Rhett had fought in the past. That’s what you do when your friends for so long, but this felt different. He felt terrible, unable to thinking about anything else. So after dwelling for hours, he finally got back into his car. There was only one way he could relieve his mind and that was going over to Rhett’s house right now and apologizing.

It was late; the sun was already starting to set. He hoped Rhett was still awake. As he pulled into his friend’s driveway, he saw the lights were all out. For a moment he considered leaving, and coming back tomorrow, but then he saw movement in the downstairs window. Getting out of the car, Link headed up the short walkway to the front door and rung the doorbell. There was no answer. ‘ _But I saw him,_ ’ he thought. ’ _I know he’s awake._ ’ He rang the bell again. After a few seconds, he heard a soft thump against the other side, then Rhett’s voice.

“Go away.”

“I wanted to apologize. Can I come in? I just want to talk.”

“Not now, please.” He sounded scared Link was instantly worried.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! Please just…” Mid sentence, he stopped and there was a soft whine. It didn’t sound entirely human, but it was definitely coming from Rhett.

“Rhett? What’s wrong? Answer me!”

“No please, just leave, I can’t…” He sounded so desperate and scared that it tugged at Link’s heart. If his friend was hurting, he wanted to help. He tried the doorknob. Locked. Not giving up, he bent down and removed the emergency key hidden under the welcome mat.

“I’m coming in Rhett.”

“Link, no,” his voice cracked, then Link heard loud footsteps running away from the door as he placed the key into the lock. Turning it, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

It was pitch black. All the windows inside were covered with thick curtains and all the lights were out. Link knew the layout of the house well enough to take a few tentative steps in before calling out.

“Rhett? Where are you? Let me help. Whatever’s wrong, let me try.” As his eyes adjusted, he saw a dark shape not too far away, near the base of the stairs. “Rhett?”

“You need to leave, Link.” Rhett’s voice was deeper than usual, but there was still a hint of fear in it. “You can’t be in here. It’s not safe.”

“You’re scaring me. Please, where’s the light? Let me see you.” He turned to find the light switch he knew was near the door. A dark blur rushed past him, knocking his hand away from the switch. “Rhett what’s going on?”

“The light hurts my eyes. Please, just go.” Link shook his head, not really sure if his friend could see the gesture or not. He turned around and shut the front door for emphasis.

“No. I’m not going anywhere.” From the darkness he could here Rhett breathing, loud and uneven. He walked closer towards the sound.

“I can’t control it. I don’t want to hurt you…”

“Control what? I’m not afraid of you.” It was a lie. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing straight up and his arms were covered with goosebumps.

“You’re lying. I can hear your heart; it’s beating so fast.” Link swallowed. Hearing his heart? What was going on?

“Rhett, I don’t know what’s wrong, but I’m not leaving until I get some answers.”

“I can smell your sweat. It’s sweet, like candy.” His voice didn’t sound scared anymore. It sounded certain, and terrifying. “I can almost taste you.”

“Rhett, stop it now. Come out and let’s talk, please.” He stepped forward, cautiously, trying to remember his way through the dark house.

“I don’t want to talk. I want…” He trailed off and Link paused, uncertain. For a moment, there was silence, then he felt a heavy force slam him, face first, into a nearby wall. He made a loud noise as all the wind was knocked out of his lungs. He tried to step back, but something large and very strong held him in place. Starting to panic, he tried to wiggle free but couldn’t move an inch. That’s when he felt something fuzzy brush up against the back of his ear.

“I love how you smell,” Rhett whispered. He inhaled deeply, his beard tickling Link’s skin and the shorter man couldn’t help but start to tremble. As he tried to turn around, his friend grabbed both of his wrists and held them firmly above his head. Rhett used his hips and chest to hold Link against the cold wall.

“Rhett… Rhett please…” Link was dismayed at how pathetic he sounded, begging for his lifelong friend to stop whatever this was. He didn’t understand, he could barely think.

“You always smell so good, did you know that? Sitting so close to me, during the tapings.”

“Rhett…”

“And you’re such a tease too, flirting with me when the camera is rolling. Fucking tease…”

“Rhett, I don’t know what…”

“So many times you’ve come so close, only to pull away. Why do you always do that? Why? You smell so good, I just want… I just…” Link felt a soft, wet, appendage run up his neck, stopping just below his ear. Rhett growled. “I’ve wanted to taste you for so long.”

“I’m sorry I teased you,” Link managed, trying to get a hold of his own sanity. “I won’t do it again, okay? I promise.” He hoped he could reason with his friend, maybe get him to stop long enough to let him go. He didn’t know what was up, but he knew he needed to get out. Unfortunately, Rhett wasn’t listening.

“So close to me… Always showing off your butt every chance you get. Huh? Don’t you?” He rolled his hips, hard, against Link’s backside and Link felt Rhett's arousal. His blue eyes went wide with realization. “You were always begging for it.”

“No, I-” he cut off as Rhett pressed his wrists harder against the wall, painfully hard.

“Beg for me.” His deep, baritone voice resonated in Link’s body and it began to react without any consent. Link felt the familiar tingle in his own groin at the sound. Involuntary, he shifted his hips, trying to make it stop, but that only made Rhett moan. “Fuck, Link…”

“Rhett, I don’t….” What? Don’t feel attracted to him? That was a lie. He always harbored attraction towards his friend, even though he refused to admit it aloud. He wanted to say he never thought about him in that way, but he couldn’t. He didn’t believe it, and his growing erection was more than enough proof.

“I want you,” Rhett was saying. “I need you. I need… I…” Suddenly he threw himself back, releasing his iron grip on his friend. Link instantly turned around. He could barely see his friend in the darkness, but he gazed up at where he head was, trying to look into his eyes. “I told you to leave, why won’t you leave?” Rhett’s voice was scared again. He never wanted to hurt anyone, least of all his best friend, but it was so hard to fight what was inside him.

“Because you’re my friend, and I care about you.” Link wanted to step closer, but he could tell it took all of Rhett’s strength to restrain himself right now. “If something’s wrong I want to help.”

“I can’t… I don’t know how to… You need to leave. I don’t know how long I can fight this. You don’t know how long I’ve tried.”

“What? What is it?”

“I can’t, Link. I can’t!” With that last shout, Rhett turned and ran up the stairs. Link was free. He glanced at the front door. He knew he should leave, but he couldn’t. His friend still needed his help. Taking a deep breath, he began feeling his way towards the stairs, then carefully walked up them.

In the darkness he could hear whimpering coming from the bedroom. He opened the door and saw the dimmest of moonlight coming through the window, shining down on the bed where Rhett lay, curled up in the fetal position and rocking back and forth. He looked up as Link entered.

“You have got to leave! I don’t know how long I can hold it back.”

“Hold what back? Goddamn it, Rhett, I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on!” The large man sat up, wrapping his arms around himself and looked like he was trying to concentrate.

“Remember last summer, when we went camping, I got attacked by a wolf. Remember?” Link nodded, remembering. Flashes of Rhett’s mangled body lying on the cold forest floor sent shivers down his spine.

“How could I forget? That wolf almost killed you…”

“It wasn’t a wolf.” He looked down and Link had to resist the urge to walk over to him, to comfort him.

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t know at first. I was just as oblivious as you. You remember when I woke up in that back alley, with no clothes and no memory of how I got there? Then, the next night, my house was trashed? Well, what I didn’t tell you was after that night, it… it wasn’t the last time I lost a whole night.” Rhett looked so helpless. It took everything Link had not to hold him. His friend may have been vulnerable, but he was still dangerous, and Link didn’t want to interrupt the story, not when he was finally getting some answers.

“I set up those security cameras, hoping to find out what the hell had been going on and… The next month it happened again. I saw the tape. I saw…” He rubbed his arms, remembering the horror that he had witnessed, experienced but didn’t remember experiencing. “I turned, Link. I turned into something. I can’t fight it. Every month it happens again. I’ve managed to keep it locked up in the basement. I turned the whole downstairs into a prison, with a heavy steel door and deadbolts. Theo helped me. He’s one too. I stay down there until I turn back, but…”

“Are you going to turn… tonight?” Link asked, hesitantly. Rhett nodded.

“That’s why you need to leave. I’m dangerous. Even the hours before… it’s like everything goes into overdrive. My senses get stronger, I eat more than normal and…” Link wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a slight blush creep over his friend’s face. “Other things. It just all goes nuts inside.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what? That I think I’m a… a fucking… werewoof? You’d think I was crazy. Maybe I _am_ crazy.”

“Whatever is wrong, even if you are a… uh, werewolf… Let me help you. I care about you, I worry about you. You are my best friend and I want to help.” He took a tentative step forward, raising his hand as if approaching a strange, unknown dog.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Link. I don’t want to bite you and turn you into… whatever I am.”

“You won’t, I know it.” He took another step. “You won’t hurt me.”

“I will. You don’t know what I’m capable of. You don’t understand what I… What I almost did… Link… Don’t. I can’t…” Link took one final step and that was one step too many. In the blink of an eye, Rhett leapt from the bed and pinned his friend against the wall of the bedroom, this time making them face to face. His right hand was up against the wall, right next to Link’s ear. His other hand was at Link’s waist, grabbing tightly, but not painfully, near his hip.

He looked down at Link, and the shorter man looked right back at him. His eyes, usually mostly green with almost hidden flecks of brown were gone, replaced by ones of amber gold. They stared at him for a moment, their gaze boring right into Link’s soul, then they closed. Rhett lowered his head, pressing his forehead against the wall, opposite his right hand.

“Link,” he whispered, a mix of sorrow and fear. “Please. I can’t stop it. It wants you so bad. You need to leave before it makes me… Before it hurts you.” Link cautiously brought his hands to Rhett’s sides. The larger man’s body twitched at the touch.

“It’s okay, Rhett. I want to stay. I know you won’t hurt me. You could never kill me.”

“You don’t understand… It doesn’t want to kill you. It wants…” He couldn’t finish his sentence, but he was so close to Link, Link could feel exactly what this supposed wolf wanted brushing up against him. It was the same thing he wanted. What he had always wanted. Maybe, just maybe, they could both get what they wanted. What they needed. Taking a deep breath, Link decided to take a chance.

“Tell me it’s just this… thing… inside you. That it’s only the werewolf or whatever you want to call it,” he began. “Tell me there’s nothing of you in this desire, and I’ll go.” Rhett opened his eyes, meeting his friend’s sapphire gaze once more. They were uncertain, but for the first time since Link had stepped into the house, they were hopeful.

“I’ve always wanted you Link, but not like this. I don’t want to just… take you. I lo-” He hid his face in his friend’s neck, as he choked on the last word, but his grip on Link’s waist tightened. Link heard the last word stick in Rhett’s throat.

“I love you too, Rhett. I always have. I always will.” He ran his hands up the other man’s torso until they rested on his shoulders and leaned his head against the soft, blond hair. “It’s okay.” Rhett turned his hopeful eyes towards his friend. “It’s okay.” Link brought his lips towards Rhett's beard, nuzzling him softly, trying to comfort him and let him know that he wanted this too.

As their lips met, hesitantly, Rhett felt his desire spark again, this time backed by the confidence that his feelings were shared. He leaned into the kiss, barely breathing as his lips pressed hard against Link’s.

At first he was gentle, relishing his friend’s reciprocation in both feelings and desires, but the taste of the shorter man on his tongue, the sound of his beating heart racing in his chest… It was all too much. He growled as he pressed his body hard against Link, desperate to bring their bodies together as one. Link eagerly pressed back, lost in the joy that came from knowing he wasn’t alone in his love. Together they match their movements; their hands and lips, learning each other’s technique and form.

When Rhett’s forceful pressure started to hurt his chest, Link broke away from the kiss, trying to push the other man away and give himself some breathing room. The taller man didn’t notice, ignoring his companion’s need for space. Instead, he grabbed the smaller man and tossed him roughly over to the bed, following quickly behind.

“Hey!” Link exclaimed, surprised at the strength of his friend. He wasn’t used to being handled like a rag doll. Rhett continued to ignore the protests as he climbed on top of Link, his eyes practically burning with lust and animalistic desire. Link looked up at his friend’s face, and didn’t see his lifelong friend. There was something so very dark and ferocious about his gaze.

He leaned forward, running his teeth along Link’s neck, teasing the throbbing pulse there. As he ran his long hands along the other man’s body, the soft caressing touch changed to desperate clutching, and his fingernails started digging into the soft flesh of his friend’s body, under his shirt.

“Rhett! Rhett, please!” Finally the larger man pulled back and his eyes seemed to bring Link into focus. All the fire in those eyes faded immediately, and he looked scared again. There was a pause, a beat, and Rhett was off of the bed in a flash, looking down at his friend, terrified.

“God… I’m sorry.. I…” Link sat up, raising a hand to console him. “I should have… I shouldn’t have…” He looked out the window. The light of the full moon seemed to be glaring down at him. "I’ve waited too long…”

“It’s okay, just be gentle. You don’t have to-” Suddenly, Rhett bent over in pain, clutching his stomach and clenching his eyes shut. Before Link could get up to help him, to see what was wrong, the taller man began wildly tearing off his clothes, starting with his shirt. Link didn’t know what to say, he just stared, confused, as his friend basically stripped in front of him.

As he watched, Rhett started to change. His body stretched and contorted, growing larger and hairier. His already tall form grew to well over ten feet, his dirty blond hair, now a long, shaggy mane, brushed up against the bedroom ceiling. His fingernails extended and thickened into dark claws and his nose expanded out into a canine muzzle, complete with huge, sharp teeth. A long, swooping tail emerged from his backbone, and it waved back and forth, slowly.

The transformation took only a minute. Once it appeared as if the process was complete, the ferocious werewolf stood up on its hind legs, as straight as it could, and seemed to sniff the air. Link couldn’t breath; he opened his mouth, unsure if he should talk or scream, but only managed a strange choked gurgle. The werewolf turned on the spot, looking right at the man before him. Taking a step back, Link felt his heart stop in his chest.

“Rhe…?“ The room around him started spinning, and his head felt so light. As Link tried to say that one word, he couldn’t find the air to finish. The last thing he saw, before his eyes rolled back, was the beast stepping towards him, then he collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.


	14. Chapter 14

Link woke up many hours later and the first thing he noticed was the strong smell of bacon filling his nostrils. He blinked open his eyes only to be greeted by the blurry view of a room he didn’t immediately recognize. Instinctively, he reached around for his glasses, finding them on a nearby nightstand. Putting them on, he looked around, trying to remember how he ended up here.

He was in Rhett’s bedroom, lying on top of his bed, fully clothed (thankfully). Images of the his friend transforming into a werewolf flooded into Link’s brain, but he shook his head. The only explanation he could think of was it had been a dream. Last night, after talking with his friend, he had… fallen asleep? It didn’t make sense, but at least it was a believable explanation.

Getting up, Link headed out of the room and into the short upstairs hallway. The sounds of pans and silverware being shifted around came up from the kitchen and he followed them downstairs until he stood in the adjoining living room, looking in on his tall friend as he moved about.

“Rhett?” he asked. Rhett turned, pan still in hand, and smiled.

“Hey! Morning Link! Just cooking up some bacon and eggs.” He motioned to the pan, strips of bacon sizzling inside. “How’d you like your eggs?”

“Did I…? Um, did I sleep over last night?” Link rubbed his head. Rhett looked back to the pan, his cheery expression fading to a solemn frown.

“You don’t remember?”

“Not really. I mean, I remember coming over to talk to you, and you were spouting something about….” He paused. He remembered Rhett talking about wanting him, Rhett leaning against him. Rhett kissing him… “Rhett, did you… ? Did we…?”

“You don’t… regret… kissing me, do you?” He looked so sad, so vulnerable. Link crossed the short space between them and placed a hand on his friend’s arm.

“I wasn’t sure if that was part of my dream or not. Everything is all blurred together, but if that really happened… If by some miracle it was real, no. I don’t regret it. Everything I said, everything I did, I meant.” Rhett looked into those blue eyes with such a tender smile Link couldn’t help but smile back.

“Me too… I mean, most of it. I know things got out of hand, but I didn’t… um…”

“Did we…?”

“No! I mean, I wanted to… Um…” He set the pan off the burner, turning the stove off then to his friend.

“I’m pretty sure I wanted to too.”

“Link… what do you remember… after that? After we kissed?”

“I don’t know. I must have fallen asleep? I had some weird dreams about you turning into a werewolf…” Rhett didn’t speak, but gave him a look. “What?”

“Link that… that really happened.”

“No. It was a dream.” Rhett sighed, grabbing his friend lightly by the hand and leading him across the living room to his small home office. “What?”

“Let me show you.” Rhett booted up his laptop and signed onto the UIS servers, loading the video recordings from the night before.

“Rhett, you’re scaring me.”

“Yeah, I seem to do that a lot.” A few clicks and a mouse scroll brought up the time code for the night before. He switched over to the camera in the bedroom. Link was there, Rhett up against him. Link in the present blushed at the sight.

“You recorded us?”

“I set the camera up months ago, remember? To find out what was going on with my blackouts. Keep watching.” The Rhett in the video grabbed Link, tossing him on the bed and the Link watching the video bit his lip. He couldn’t help but feel excited, wondering what he had obviously missed, wondering if he was about to see something… explicit.

Just as Rhett was getting rough, he jumped off the bed. Link’s memory of that night lined up with what he was seeing as the events of the past unfolded before him. As he watched Rhett bend over in pain, he remembered seeing it in person. Every second he watched, he remembered more. Then Rhett transformed. He became a beast that was half man, half wolf, and Link felt all the blood rush out of his face. He stared, now pale, at the video that proved his dream had not been a dream but reality. Beside him, Rhett held his hand again, but he didn’t notice. He could only stare at the images before him.

The werewolf turned to Link, who started to fall to the floor in a faint. With a swift motion, the creature reached out and caught him, gently holding him in his massive arms. Picking him up, he carried him bridal style over to the bed and set him on it, ever so gently.

“I didn’t want you to get cold on the floor,” Rhett explained, as the werewolf on the video curled up on the floor beside the bed. Link felt a sudden urge to sit down and nearly missed the chair behind him.

“So, you are…? Really?”

“Really.” There was a long pause while Link tried to process the facts that had been brought to his attention, for the second time, apparently. Before he could figure out what he should say, what anyone should say in this situation, the sound of the doorbell echoed in the house. Someone was at the door. Patting his friend on the shoulder, Rhett stood up and went to see who was visiting him so early in the morning on a Saturday. Link didn’t move, but looked at the video where the Link in the recording was still sleeping, soundly.

Rhett was a werewolf. It was real. It was true. It was crazy. Ignoring the voices in the other room, greeting each other, Link reached over and click on the screen, rewinding the recording to watch the transformation again. This could be fake, but he knew it wasn’t. He had been there, had witnessed it first hand. The question now was, what was he going to do with this information?

“Link?” his friend’s voice called from the living room. “Can you come in here? I want you to meet someone.” Taking one last look at the paused image of werewolf Rhett, Link left the office. In the other room, standing next to human Rhett, was a much shorter man with shaggy brown hair and amazingly green eyes. He smiled and offered a hand as Link approached.

“Hi, Link. I’m Theo. Rhett has told me so much about you.” Tentatively, Link took the hand and shook it.

“Wish I could say the same.”

“Yeah, well, that’s understandable. Rhett tells me you just found out about his condition.”

“Condition?” Link scoffed. “That’s what we’re gonna call it?”

“Well, it’s one word for it,” Theo chuckled. Rhett frowned.

“Tell him what you told me,” he instructed.

“Right, okay.” The short man lifted up a newspaper clipping and handed it to Link. The words ‘body found’ and ‘wolf problem’ stuck out right away. “There’s been another killing. Same place as before.”

“Wolf attack?” Link asked. “Where Rhett was attacked?” Theo nodded.

“Yes. There is a werewolf out there who either doesn’t know, or doesn’t care that he’s hurting people. This has to stop. If it doesn’t, well, more people are going to get killed or worse. Turned.”

“How is getting turned worse?” Link’s question brought almost identical looks from the other two men. Theo cleared his throat before answering.

“Look, every person turned is another person to keep track of. Another person who could let our secret out. There are more of us than you think. Not many in the cities, but enough. Anonymity is the key to our survival. What do you think would happen if normal humans found out about us? It’d be pandamonium, carnage. They’d hunt us down and kill us or experiment on us. We have to stay a legend, a fairy tale, at all costs. Understand?”

“I… I think so.”

“You better know so, buddy.” The bartender’s friendly smile was long gone and Rhett placed his hands between his two friends, nervous now.

“Link understands. I told you, I trust him with my life. He won’t go blabbing, I’m sure of it.”

“I won’t!” Link assured him. “I don’t want anything to happen to Rhett.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself, but they were true. He looked up at the tall man beside him and their eyes met with an unspoken understanding. The feeling was definitely mutual.

“Good. Now listen, I have been trying to find out where this guy is hiding when he’s not wolfing out, but I can’t. I think, maybe with your help…” He pointed at Rhett. “We can track him down, but we’ll need to be wolves ourselves.”

“What?” Link couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Granted, he had been hearing a lot of things he couldn’t believe today.

“Whoa whoa…” Rhett also looked incredulous. “Now hold on. You always told me to stay inside during the moons. Never go outside ‘cause someone could see me?”

“I know, I know what I said, but our wolf noses are perfect for the job. Yours led you to me, months ago, remember? You found my scent at my bar even over all the scents in the city. If we use that power to track the wolf in the woods, we’d be able to find him easy.”

“And then what?” Link asked. “What are you going to do with you find him?”

“Hopefully he’ll listen to reason. Maybe he is like Rhett was, not knowing what he is. I can teach him like I taught you.” He motioned towards Rhett again.

“And if he doesn’t want to be taught? If he wants to stay free ranged?”

“Then we’ll deal with that too.”

“You can’t be serious?” Link looked up at Rhett, to see if he was on board with this crazy idea. “He’s not serious, right?”

“I don’t, uh…” Rhett looked torn and Theo cut him off before he could continue.

“I don’t like it anymore than you do, but if it means keeping the rest of us safe, well…”

“You’re talking about killing him, right?” Link was incensed now. “Taking a human life?”

“To save the rest of us. This isn’t about one man, Link. This guy is killing people. He is taking human life and the cops can’t do nothing to stop him. I don’t want to, I never want to, but I have to think about the big picture.”

“You talk like you’ve done this before.” The remark was made offhandedly, but the look on Theo’s face gave Link pause. “Wait, have you?”

“Once before. A purebred who didn’t want to play by the rules. He wanted to let the wolf rule him. He killed three people before I got to him, including my brother. Sometimes you have to do what you have to.” Link didn’t know how to respond to that. Obviously this man meant business, and despite his own moral compass yelling at him, he couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe he was right.

“So,” he started, after a moment. “How does one kill a werewolf anyway?”


	15. Chapter 15

“You’re not going, Link,” Rhett insisted, as they drove down the long road to the camp grounds. Link was driving. He had agreed to drive his friend to the place where the last attack had occurred and the plan was to drop Rhett off and come back the next morning. Link didn’t like this plan.

“I’m not leaving you out there by yourself,” he countered.

“I’m not going to be alone. Theo will be there. Max is gonna drop him off and I’m going to meet up with him. Remember?”

“I remember, I just don’t like it, and him being there doesn’t make me feel better. Can’t I just-”

“There’s nothing more you can do. You have to let us handle it.” Rhett's leg was shaking, nervously. Link could tell he didn’t really like the plan either.

“Are you sure you have enough control of your wolf side?” It wasn’t long ago that Rhett was saying he couldn’t. He had pleaded with Link to leave his house because of it.

“I’ve been practicing. Theo has been helping me. If I can maintain my hybrid form, and not turn completely into a wolf, I can keep my mind. It’s gonna be fine.” Neither was certain if that last part was to convince Link, or Rhett. Sighing, Link just shook his head.

“Maybe it’s because I’m still new to this whole thing, but that still sounds crazy. That Theo guy is going to get you killed.”

“I trust him. He’s helped me so much over these past months. I don’t think I would have made it long without him.” Their car pulled up the last hill and Link parked it just before the tree line. Rhett looked around. The place was deserted; no sign of Theo’s car, the man himself, or anyone at all. It was spooky. The full moon was already visible in the evening sky and the sun was just at the horizon.

“This is crazy,” Link muttered, mostly to himself. Rhett unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face his friend.

“It is. It is crazy, but I have to do this. I can’t let anyone else get hurt. Especially you. Link, I…” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and just blurted it out. “I love you.” Link placed a kind hand on his friend’s shoulder and waited until their eyes met again.

“I love you too, Rhett. I’m scared for you. You already faced this monster once and you barely got out alive. I don’t want you to get hurt again.” There was a pause as each man tried to bring up the courage to move closer. Inch by inch they shifted until their legs were touching and their arms could wrap around each other. They closed their eyes and leaned in, tentatively pressing their lips against one another. A tender kiss, gentle and nervous. The last time had been so rushed, in the chaos of Rhett’s transformation. Now they had more time to really think about what this meant. It was brief, but wonderful. As they pulled apart their eyes met once more and matching smiles appeared on both of their faces.

“I can’t decide which I believe less,” Link began. “The fact that my best friend is a werewolf, or the fact that my best friend loves me as much as I love him.”

“I know how you feel. I’ve loved you for years and I was always scared to say anything. I didn’t want you to… I didn’t want to lose what we had.”

“Never. You will always have me. No matter what.” Link ran a hand across the other man’s chest, leaning in for another kiss, when they heard the familiar squeak of breaking tires. They pulled back and glanced to the side of their car. It was Max and Theo, in a dirty, brown bronco. The bouncer gave a short wave and Rhett waved back.

“I guess it’s time.” He moved to open the passenger side door, but Link grabbed his arm, tightly. He wanted to tell him not to go, that he should let Theo take care of this on his own. He wanted to tell him he couldn’t bare to live without him, that the world would be a terrible place if he wasn’t in it. He wanted to tell him so much, but when their eyes met one last time, he saw it in his bearded face. Rhett needed to do this, if only for his own sake, his own peace of mind.

“I’ll be here when the sun comes up,“ he finally said. "You better be too or I’m gonna be so pissed.” Rhett gave him a reassuring smile before kissing him swiftly on the cheek.

“I promise.” Link watched as his best friend, his love, stepped out of the car and walked over to the other two men. He thought about getting out and talking to them too, but he couldn’t. He knew if he took one step out of this vehicle, he wouldn’t be able to get back in and leave. Instead, he watched as Theo and Rhett removed their clothing placing them in bags and then put those in the bronco.

From another bag, the shorter man took out a thick chain with a small pouch hanging from it and placed it over his neck. The huge chain was much too big for his 5’4 frame, but it wasn’t meant to fit his human form. Inside the pouch was a silver dagger, the only material that could effectively kill a werewolf. They all hoped it wouldn’t be needed, but they had it all the same, just in case. A second, identical chain and pouch was passed to Rhett who slung it over his own head, nervously.

Max gave the bartender a last pat on the back before getting into the car and driving off. Link stayed. He knew he should leave, but he had to watch. Rhett glanced over his shoulder, nodding to his friend before bracing himself for the change. It was painful to watch, as his body contorted into its beastly self. Theo changed too, finishing much faster than the taller man, no doubt from practice.

When they had become what Rhett called the hybrid form, the wolf on two legs, they both turned to face the moon and howled. It was terrifying. Link found his hands clutching the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. He resolved to not faint this time, though, and he swallowed any noise he was tempted to make. Theo, the smaller and darker of the two wolves, dropped to all fours and ran into the woods, starting the hunt. Rhett (whom Link felt would recognize in any form) paused to look at the human in the car, one last glance before heading into the trees as well, disappearing quickly in the dense forest.

Link waited a few minutes, staring at the darkness, before finally releasing his tense grip on the steering wheel. He moved his hand to put the car back into drive, but stopped. He couldn’t leave. Not while Rhett was out there. He couldn’t help, he was just a weak little human in this world of beasts, but he could wait. Glancing at his watch, Link slouched in his seat. It was going to be a long night, but he had nowhere else to be. There was nowhere else he wanted to be.

Sometime in the middle of the night, he fell asleep. He hadn’t meant to, but he always was capable of falling asleep at any given time. The car was uncomfortable, the situation was dire, and yet he managed to slip into a light, dreamless sleep. When he heard the sound of a wolf howl, in the distance, he startled awake, wondering if Rhett had finally returned.

The moon was bright, but dawn was not far away. The howl came again, closer this time. Link couldn’t tell if it was either of his companions, not from the sound. If it was neither of them… the alternative was far too terrifying to consider. Fixing his glasses, Link peered into the dark woods, trying to see if anything was approaching. Nothing. Only blackness beyond those mighty trees. Frustrated, he climbed out of the car, grabbing a flashlight and flicked it on. He walked over to the tree line and aimed the bright beam at the woods, trying to get a better look.

“Rhett?” he called out. “Theo?” There was no answer, but the hairs on the back of his neck were starting to stand straight up. Biting his lip, thinking maybe it had been a very bad idea to get out of the car, he turned to go back when he heard a low growl. Turning to look, he saw a single wolf, very large, and very mean. It was not Theo. Theo was a very dark brown while this creature was a faded grey. It was not Rhett. Rhett was a more sandy color, and much larger. This was something else, but definitely not a regular wolf.

After moment, he did recognize it. The light was different, but it had to be. It had to be the same wolf that had attacked Rhett so long ago. This was the beast they had come all this way to find and stop, but where were the others? How far away could they be? Link hoped they weren’t too far. He didn’t think he could take on this creature a second time. As the beast cleared the treeline, it broke into a sprint, rushing right towards him. The man was slower and he didn’t have a head start this time. Dropping his light, he made a dash for the car, but it was too late even then. He just wasn’t fast enough.

All thought was gone. There were only sensations. He felt the cold metal of the car door handle as his fingers brushed past it. He felt sharp teeth bury into the soft flesh of his leg and he saw the dusty gravel of the road rushing up to meet him. A rough cry echoed around him, scratching his throat and ringing in his ears. It was his own voice, but he barely recognized it.

There was another cry, but not the cry of a human being. It was deeper, louder, like that of an animal. Link tried to rotate his body, still in the iron grip of the beast’s jaw. He kicked his leg trying to free himself and see where that second cry came from. The new creature was not quite a wolf. Half-man, half-wolf, he was bigger with light brown fur and golden amber eyes. Racing out from nowhere he leapt at the first beast. There was a glint of silver, moonlight reflecting off of metal. The first wolf released the man, howling in pain and Link took his chance to crawl away as fast as he could.

Shifting backwards, he felt his arms growing weaker; blood was still pouring from the wound on his leg. His heart was pounding so hard, it was all he could hear. Through his dimming vision, he saw the wolf, the mighty beast that almost cost his dearest friend his life, fall to the ground, motionless. For a moment, it just laid there, still and quiet. Then it began to shrink. In mere seconds its form shifted from a huge wolf to a pale, naked old man, with white hair and beard. He wasn’t moving. It was over.

Link’s vision was fading fast, as was the night. The morning sun rose over the horizon, bathing the scene in its brilliance. He couldn’t hold his eyes open. They were just too heavy. He closed them as he laid back on the ground. They just needed some rest.

"Link!” A familiar voice was calling to him, but he couldn’t muster the strength to open eyes. He felt strong arms wrap around him, holding him in a warm embrace. “Oh god. Theo! He’s hurt!” There were more noises: a car door, the shuffle of feet on gravel, then the voice spoke again, right in his ear. “Hold it together Link, help is on its way. Hold on…” Link felt cold. He couldn’t stay awake any longer.

“I got you, Link. Just hold on. I got you.”


	16. Chapter 16

“So, who was he?” Link asked as Rhett pulled into Link's driveway. The shorter man had just been released from the hospital that morning, having spent a whole week there with an unknown virus and an incredibly high fever. They had told the doctors about the wolf attack but, of course, many details were left out. Like why they were really up in the woods so early, or what happened to the ‘wolf’ after the attack.

“Some old hermit that lived up in the mountains. We found his cabin out there. He must have lived there forever.”

“Werewolf hermit?”

“I guess.” Rhett got out of the car and his friend followed suit. Despite being bedridden for so long, Link felt exhausted. Turns out, contracting lycanthropy really takes a lot out of you. “It was so creepy in his house. He had newspaper articles taped up on a wall of all the guys who’ve gone missing near there, or been killed by a wolf.” He patiently waited for Link to unlock the front door, and motion for him to enter, before following him inside. “I think they were like, his trophies or something.”

“So you think he knew what he was? What he was doing?”

“Definitely looked that way. Oh, and there were dead animals all over the place. Tore up and rotting. That dude was… just messed up.” Link sat down on the couch and Rhett sat beside him, still picturing the horrifying scene he and Theo had explored in their search for the rogue werewolf.

“What did… Where is he now? His body? I remember it… him… turning back into a person when…” He didn’t want to say it. Rhett had killed a man. He was a crazed, vicious werewolf man, who was killing people indiscriminately, but he was still a man. Link wasn’t sure his friend had forgiven himself yet, but he had done it to save his best friend, and Link would never forget that.

“Yeah. Theo explained that to me. He says when we die, we turn back into our human selves. Our heart stops beating and therefore stops the virus from permeating the body. Max took the body somewhere, I don’t know. I don’t think I want to know actually.”

“At least he can’t hurt anyone anymore.” He laid his head on Rhett’s shoulder, closing his eyes, and just enjoying being close to him. It was still so new, being with him, as more than a friend. Sure, they hadn’t said it out loud, but they didn’t need to. When Link woke up from his fever, his friend had been there. His brother. His love. It was like waking up for the first time, finding out that your whole life had been a dream and now the real world was out there, waiting.

“Yeah,” Rhett repeated. He looked down at Link, so peaceful, tranquil. “I wish I could have gotten to him sooner. Then you wouldn’t have to be like this, like me. I should have been able to-”

“Don’t talk like that.” Link’s eyes snapped open and he turned Rhett’s face to look at him. “I don’t blame you for what happened. It wasn’t your fault. I’m fine. I’m alive. You saved me.” He pulled Rhett's head down and kissed him softly.

“You saved me first.” Link set his head back down, snuggling Rhett sideways.

“Let’s hope we don’t ever have to do it again. Ever.”

“Agreed.” Rhett chewed in his lip, lost in thought for a moment or two. When he looked down again, Link’s eyes were back to being closed and his mouth was wide open, a sure sign the man was out for the count. With a soft smile, Rhett pulled the throw blanket down from the back of the couch and wrapped it around both of them. Then, laying his head against that of his sleeping friend, he too closed his eyes and settled in for a nice nap.

~ ~ ~

Over the next few weeks, Rhett taught Link everything he had learned about being a werewolf. The first month was the hardest, he assured him, with all the mood swings and strange urges to chase small animals. He told him about his own experiences, like all the vivid dreams he had, especially in the week leading up to his first change.

“What did you dream about?”

“Uh, you, mostly.”

“Oh yeah? I’ve been dreaming about you. Very, um, intense dreams.” Rhett blushed, remembering some of his own dreams. “Though, having dreams about you… those kinds of dreams. Not something new, Rhett.”

“Yeah? What are they about?” Link gave a coy wink.

“Maybe I’ll show ya sometime.”

It was a few days later, the night before Link’s first full moon, when he knocked on Rhett’s door, a small store bag in his hand. There was barely a 'hello’ or 'how are you?’ before the two men were lip-locked, both of their animalistic desires bordering on out of control. Mirroring the events of that night, when all of their secrets came pouring out from their hearts, now it was Link that had his friend up against a wall. Rhett didn’t care that he wasn’t the dominate one now, being shoved wherever his lover wanted him, he was just happy to be with him. He had dreamed of this moment for what seemed like his entire life and, despite the circumstances of their confessions, he wouldn’t have changed a thing.

“Bedroom?” Link suddenly asked, out of breath. Rhett just nodded and, his boyfriend’s hand in his, he led the way up the stairs to the bedroom. They had, since Link returned from the hospital, taken down all cameras from the house and deleted all the recordings from the UIS servers. They couldn’t risk any proof about their condition getting out. Rhett was especially happy he had removed the cameras in the bedroom, now that there was a very real possibility it would actually see some action.

As he sat down on the bed, he watched as Link removed a small bottle from the store bag and examined it closely. Rhett recognized it, having experimented with similar substances in college, when he was still figuring things out. He didn’t know if the other man had any experience with such things, and from the way he was examining the bottle, it didn’t look like it.

“I read an article online that said this was the best. It’s got Jojoba extracts in it. Whatever that is. Supposed to help relax your um, muscles… down there.” Rhett held up a hand and Link stepped over to him to show him the bottle. Rhett glanced at the label.

“'Pjur’,” he read.“It’s a good brand.” Link gave him a look, and he chuckled, slightly embarrassed. “I’ve used it before; a few times. Every time I did I wished it was with you.”

“Well, now it is.” Link twisted the top off and immediately sniffed it. His friend placed a hand on his arm.

“Have you ever…? With a man?” Link shook his head. “Are you sure you want to?”

“I want you so bad, Rhett. I need more than just kissing. Don’t get me wrong. It’s more than I could have ever hoped for, I just….” The other man moved his hand to Link’s face, caressing his jaw.

“Come here.” Gently, he pulled Link closer, kissing him, holding him close. Taking the bottle from him, he set it aside and began unbuttoning Link's shirt, sliding it from his broad shoulders. As the shorter man stepped back to remove the rest of his clothing, Rhett pulled off his blue Henley, then his pants and boxers.

“How should I,” Link whispered, leaning his now naked body against Rhett’s chest. “I mean what do we…” Rhett splayed his legs, pulling the other man to stand between them. His erection was at full mast, and Link looked down at it nervously. He wanted this man so badly, but he was afraid of being hurt, or hurting the man he loved. Rhett picked up the bottle of lube and poured some of the thick liquid onto his hand. He eyed his partner as he slowly moved that hand down, past his member, to his entrance, coating it with the sticky substance.

“I want you,” he whispered. Link bit his lip, excited at the prospect. “But only if you’re ready.” When Link nodded, Rhett stuck first one finger, than a second, inside himself, coating the inside and expertly stretching the muscles there. Growing impatient, and very hard, Link could barely contain himself. He thought back to the night he had first seen Rhett transform. Rhett man had been insatiable, the animal inside driving him, pushing him past the point of sanity, making him crazy with lust.

Now Link understood how he had felt. Now Link felt the exact same way.

After Rhett removed his fingers, he scooted back on the bed, his eyes daring the other man to follow. His companion needed no other encouragement. He crawled over the bed, a fire in his eyes, and a burning ache in his body.

Link shifted closer, his body hovering over his lover. Rhett took his still slippery hand and wrapped it around Link's member, making him groan from the sudden contact. He coated him, liberally, making sure they we both now fully prepared, before wiping the extra on the bed covers. He could always wash them tomorrow.

“How do you want me?” He asked, his voice deep and sultry. Link looked him up and down before answering.

“Turn over,” he growled. Rhett grinned and did as he was told, shifting easily into the 'doggy-style’ position. He felt strong hands running along his back side then, roughly, they grabbed him and pulled him back against the other man. Link bent over him, rubbing his lips over Rhett's bare back. Suddenly, he bit down hard, not enough to break the skin but it would definitely leave a mark.

Rhett cried out, a mix of pleasure and pain. ’ _So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?_ ’ he thought. ’ _Alright, I can take it._ ’ He felt Link start to enter him. It took all of Link's restraint not to just ram himself in, like his body wanted him to. Instead, he went slowly, starting with the tip. The man beneath him squirmed, impatiently.

“Fuck, Link,” he whined. “I’m not a virgin. I need to feel you.” Still, Link eased himself in carefully, amazed at how his lover could take all of him without complaint. Rhett was no virgin all right. His moans seemed to confirm this. The sounds he made just urged Link further as he began to move in and out, faster and faster.

This was no delicate dance, no gentle expression of tender serenity. It quickly devolved into the most basic of animal instinct, the most primal of urges, and they each loved every minute of it. Rhett wiggled beneath Link, moving his pelvis and maneuvering his body so his lover would hit that sweet spot inside. Link thrusted faster, and harder, enjoying the sounds the other man made everytime he hit that spot dead on.

Sweat glistened all over their skin, muscles flexed then spasmed, and the two men cried out in ecstasy. They called out the each other’s names, shuddering while their bodies jolted against one another, riding it out to the end. Neither could be sure, later, who came first, but it didn’t matter. Afterwards, they collapsed onto the bed, each a hot, sticky mess, and both not caring in the least. They lay beside each other, Link’s head on Rhett’s still-panting chest, and just basked in the afterglow, and each other’s presence. Each other’s love.

“I love you, Link,” Rhett whispered, resting his mouth in Link’s dark, brown hair, inhaling his intoxicating scent. Link closed his eyes, nuzzling the other man’s shoulder and grinning like an idiot.

“I love you too… wolf brother.”

~ ~ ~

The next night, the two men stood naked in the cold, basement room set up to contain the fiercest of creatures. There were big rawhide bones on the floor, two huge dog beds, and various chew toys strewn about, all there to keep their wolves occupied for the night. The plan was to keep them here until Link learned to control his hybrid form, then they were going to buy some land outside of the city, far away from any people who might see them. Until then, this was the best they could do.

Rhett and Link had removed their clothes in preparation of the change, and now it was fast approaching. Link wrapped his arms around himself, shivering, as he watched his boyfriend slide the deadbolt on the door in place.

“Is it going to hurt?” he asked, nervously. Rhett rubbed the shorter man’s arms, trying to warm him up.

“A little. It’s mostly going to itch, the first time.”

“And I’ll go full wolf, not hybrid?”

“It takes practice to stay half human, believe me. I’ll teach you, don’t worry, but Theo says for your first moon, all you can do is ride it out.” Link still looked scared so Rhett brought him close, holding him tightly. “I’ll be here the whole time, I promise. It’ll be over before you know it.”

“I won’t remember anything, will I?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Will I not be me at all?” Rhett took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly, trying to choose his words carefully.

“The wolf is part of you, now. He always will be, but I don’t think you go away completely. It’s like all the animal instinct, all the wild parts from the deepest part of your psyche are given a solid form. I like to think of him as my inner beast. In a way, he’s always been there. Lycanthropy just gave him the opportunity to show himself.”

“I always thought I was a cat, deep inside,” Link smirked. Rhett had to laugh at that.

“Who knows, maybe you’ll transform into a tiger. It could happen. At this point, I’d believe anything.” Link started to say something witty back, but just then his skin began to itch. Everywhere. As he started scratching, Rhett felt his own change begin. He held it back though, making it wait as long as he could. He wanted to see his friend make it through his own change first.

The change didn’t take very long; the itching was pretty bad, and it was quite a shock for Link to see his own body go through those changes before his very eyes. When it was complete, the six foot, unassuming human was replaced by a large wolf with piercing, steely blue eyes and black fur. Seeing his friend finish, Rhett man let his own begin. He wanted to stay in hybrid form, but Link’s wolf looked up at his huge form, nervously. So, not wanting his friend to be scared, Rhett let the process continue until he was in full wolf form himself.

The black wolf sniffed the other, cautiously.

’ _Hello,_ ’ he greeted, silently. The larger wolf was elated. Finally, he had found the friend he had been looking for, all this time. Finally, he was no longer alone.

~ ~ ~

_Even a man who is pure of heart,_  
_and says his prayers by night,_  
_may become a beast when the wolfbane blooms,_  
_and the Autumn moon is bright._


End file.
